


Men Out of Time

by LizaPier



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, AU past Civil Wars, Avengers Compound, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes and the 21st Century, Bucky's new arm, F/M, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Wanda Maximoff freaky awesome powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:37:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23400205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaPier/pseuds/LizaPier
Summary: When scientist Dr. Nora Pence is "loaned" to Steve Rogers by Tony Stark to build Bucky Barnes a new arm as a peace offering after the events of the Sakovia Accords, she never expected the odd friendship to follow her back to the states, much less become a regular movie night with the Winter Soldier. But when you work with "enhanced individuals" you start to just roll with things.---Basically a plot based fluff piece just because. Because Bucky really. And then my OC ended up with a cousin and her and Steve happened and it just kept growing. Complete for now but who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers & Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. In which Nora talks while she works and Bucky gets a new arm

\-----------------------------

Despite hating that Bucky killed his parents, Tony has done his research and dug deeper and found himself better able to believe that Bucky was truly just a weapon being used. This considered, he has made friends with Steve again and worked out a deal with the Accords (the supers themselves are on the deciding committee). Steve wants to make peace but isn’t willing to bring Bucky under control of the Accords until he’s doing better. In light of this, Tony recommends a scientist that could help with Bucky’s arm so he could at least have that once they un-jumble his brain.

Nora Pence was a Shield techy who has worked with Fitz Simmons. When Shield fell she went to work for Stark Ind. and has been on a team working on Avengers tech since then. She still keeps in contact with Fitz Simmons and gave the idea for Coulson’s hand (not knowing it was Coulson at the time) and helped make it happen. Now after the events of Civil Wars, Nora finds herself with Cap and team in Wakanda, working to give Bucky a new arm, while Steve tries to find a way to ‘get Hydra out’ of Bucky’s mind.

And there we go.

\-----------------------------

The lab was familiar despite that Nora had never been there. Any lab of acceptably modern tech had the same basic look and feel. She took a deep breath and acutely felt how surreal it was to be following Natasha Romanoff across the room towards Steve Rogers. It wasn’t her first encounter with either of them, but something about being a Stark employee ‘on loan’ to Captain America tasked to build an arm for the ex-Winter Soldier . . . well, it was just strange. Especially the not knowing what continent she was on part of it.

“Dr. Pence,” Rogers said, nodding to her and unfolding his arms to extend a hand to her.

“Captain Rogers.” Nora responded, shaking his hand.

“I would apologize about the secrecy, but . . .” He gave her a small smile.

“Yeah.” She nodded with a half shrug. “Security, I get it.” He gave an appreciative smile. They were all silent for an uncomfortable moment. “So, er, should I check out the. . . um, Barnes’. . . arm?”

“Yes, well. He’s in cryo-freeze again.” Steve said. Nora raised her eyebrows, surprised at that, even from the little bit she knew about Barnes. “It was his choice, until we figure out more of what Hydra did and how to prevent him from being controlled again.”

“He doesn’t trust himself not to hurt more people.” She surmised. Rogers frowned, but nodded. Nora blew out a breath. “Well, can I still physically examine his arm? Not having his input will certainly hinder things, but not make it impossible. I shouldn’t think so anyway. This is all new territory of course so I can’t promise anything.”

“Oh course.” Rogers agreed. “Yes, as far as I understand he can be in and out of the cryo tank for short periods without actually . . . thawing . . .” He frowned again. Poor man was going to mar his handsome face with some permanent lines at the rate he was going. “So examining him shouldn’t be a problem. We’re working on the, uh,  _ other _ stuff, so we’ll just have to wait on that answer.” Nora nodded. When Tony Stark and Pepper Potts had approached her about this job, she knew it wouldn’t be easy. When had anything involving enhanced people been easy though? “Okay. Shall we then?” Rogers asked. She nodded again, following him as he went through a door on the far side of the lab.

\-----------------------------

“Damn it, no!” Nora whispered furiously. “Stop rejecting—ow!” She huffed in annoyance. Dropping her hands to her sides and glaring at the metal shoulder before her. She turned her glare to the face of the man, muttering: “You know,  _ sir _ , this would be so much easier if I actually had your input.” She sighed. Two weeks in Wakanda (where she had deduced that she currently was) and Nora was no further along than day three. She couldn’t get a darn thing firmly established about Barnes’ arm. The tech was so simultaneously outdated and beyond their time that she couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It also kept giving out electric shocks, though she couldn’t determine where the energy source was coming from. Evil they may be, but Hydra had some genius minds working for them.

She jumped a bit when the timer on the cryo-tank went off, informing her that it was time to close it up again before Barnes started to thaw out too much. She sighed again, the frustration palpable. She stared at his face as the panel slid closed and frosted over again. While in cryo, his expression was completely neutral, but there were markers here and there of the stress and pain he’d been carrying for years, for  _ decades _ .

“Damn.” She mumbled again. She knew that Rogers would be back from an excursion today, working with other Accords sanctioned supers to rescue a school full of children from some crazies. Though she saw Steve Rogers and other Avenger folks in passing a lot (Rogers checked in with her at least daily when he was there), she didn’t know anything more than what the news told her about how the Accords were functioning now. Basically the panel constructed had 60% power and the supers had 40% over decisions. If the whole panel voted against an action, they could overrule the Avengers, but thus far things had been pretty even and much to relief of all those involved, Rogers hadn’t been told he couldn’t do something that he believed in enough to make a fight over. The stories on the media were very mixed, but the basic concept of what had split the Avengers was well known now.

And here she was, staring at the frozen face of the man who had shot it all to hell. Nora was still studying him went Romanoff spoke from behind her.

“I take it nothing has changed?” She asked. Nora started a bit, not having heard her enter the lab. Her red hair was uncharacteristically pulled back into a ponytail and was wet. Nora looked past her and sure enough Rogers was turning into the lab right behind her, also looking freshly showered. Just back from the mission then. Nora let Rogers get closer and then answered.

“No, and I’m starting to believe that I won’t be able to get anywhere with him in cryo.” She told them both. “I just can’t tell enough about the existing joint without his feedback. I mean I could theoretically just remove all of the metal limb, but I can’t get into it enough to see fully how it is connected to him. His brain has been rewired so much that it doesn’t respond in all the same ways anymore, so even watching neuron reactions has given me very little data.” Nora rambled off more tests she done and the inconclusive results. Rogers’ frown deepened more and more. She finally trailed off.

“Look, I want to help.” She stated. “I do. I believe you about Barnes’ goodness. That he was Hydra’s weapon and is innocent and all that. So if I can give the guy an arm back, one that wasn’t torturously forced upon him, that’s great.” She paused, watching Rogers closely. “But is an arm really what he needs most?” Rogers narrowed his eyes at her. She went on quickly. “Okay, so hear me out! We want him whole and healthy and totally himself, right? Yeah, so I can help with the physical, but I think that’s going to have to come after the mental. And besides, I’ve been thinking about it and with how the first prosthetic was given to him, I really think he should be awake and the sole decider when it comes to this one.” Rogers frowned even deeper, and Nora felt really bad for causing it.

“Now I am so not this kind of doctor and I know very little about her powers, but I’ve had a lot of empty thinking time since I’ve been here and I was wondering about Wanda Maximoff.” She looked to Romanoff and back to Rogers, hoping one of them was following the leap she was about to make. Romanoff was as impassive as ever and Rogers still looked sad and confused. Nora went on. “So she can . . . manipulate minds right? She like planted visions?” Rogers frowned even  _ more _ (seriously, dude, watch for the permanent lines!), but Romanoff nodded once. “So could she, I don’t know, do the reverse of that? If she can plant ideas, can she  _ un _ plant ideas?” She looked back and forth between them again, waiting. Rogers’ expression shifted to add surprise and thoughtfulness to the frown, while Romanoff quirked an eyebrow and looked to him.

“Hmm.” Was all Nora got in response before Rogers pulled out his phone and tapped it a few times before holding it to his ear. “Could you come to the lab? Yeah, the one Bucky’s in.” Then he hung up. Nora waited for him to say something, but he just walked past her to stare at Barnes in the cryo-tank, his arms folded across his chest. She looked at Romanoff, who shrugged lightly, then took up a similar stance. Nora faltered awkwardly before moving over to a table and straightened out the tools and notes scattered over it. She was never well organized during her sessions with Barnes’ arm since she was so limited in her time. She looked up from brainstorming over the same diagram for the hundredth time when the lab door opened.

“Steve?” Wanda Maximoff asked, coming towards them.

“Dr. Pence has an idea.” He said without preamble, gesturing to Nora. She stared at them both blankly. “Doctor?” Rogers prompted.

“Oh! Oh, sorry.” Nora jumped up from her seat and then found she didn’t know what to do with herself. Briefly theorizing to Rogers was one thing, but to the woman herself was so different somehow. “So, um, I don’t know much about your abilities.” She said, addressing Maximoff. “But I heard of how you, uh, can put idea into other’s minds . . .” The young woman frowned but nodded. Nora was great at making cool, powerful people frown apparently. “So I was just wondering about if it, uh, if you that is, could work the other way around? Could you remove an idea from someone’s mind?”

“Mmm.” Maximoff said, nodding. “Could I remove the programing Hydra placed in Barnes?” She asked in her lilting Eastern European accent.

“Again I have no idea if that’s how you . . . uh, work. But, I don’t know . . .” Nora trailed off.

“Yes, it is a good idea.” She nodded and smiled at Nora, who smiled back, very thankful for the gesture.

“So you could do it?” Rogers asked.

“I do not know.” She said, moving to stand beside him and stare at Barnes. “I can try. How would we know though? We can’t test it.”

“We could though.” Romanoff said, moving to lean one hip against a lab table. “We have the book that Zemo found. The one with all Barnes trigger words. We could use it to activate him.” Rogers shot her a glare. “And hope that it doesn’t work.” She added. “Dropping a helicopter on him in a river snapped him out of it pretty well last time.” Rogers glared even harder. She rolled her eyes. “I’ve read through the book. The trigger words set him ready to obey, but they are not actual orders. It won’t be like last time. And we could do it in a controlled environment.”

“And I believe I could subdue him.” Maximoff added. “Only  _ if _ it came to that.”

“Maybe it’s like with the arm.” Nora offered slowly after a minute of silence. “He should be able to choose himself.” They all looked at the man in the cryo-tank, and finally Rogers broke the silence.

“You’re right. He’s had no choice for too long. This is his call. But it’s the best chance he’s had.” He turned to Nora. “Can you wake him up?” He asked, hesitating on the word  _ wake _ . “I’d like to keep this from being a big ordeal.” Nora nodded, suddenly nervous. She truly did want to help. Beyond this being a fascinating (and frustrating) scientific challenge, she had been studying more on who James Barnes had been in WWII. He was a hero who didn’t deserve the hardship dealt him. But all that aside, this was the man she had been prodding and scanning and staring at for two weeks. Nora had never forgotten that he was a living human, but since he didn’t respond like a patient would, she had fallen to chatting  _ at _ him like she did with other projects. The thought of finally meeting the  _ man _ himself was strange.

“Want to do it now?” Nora asked. Rogers looked to Maximoff. She shrugged and nodded.

“I’ll gather the others, just in case?” Romanoff asked, heading off as soon as Rogers nodded. Nora started prepping, going over the control panel and reviewing what she knew of cryo thawing.

“It’s not a fast process.” She mumbled out loud, scanning over the Hydra file containing Barnes’ ‘care’ history. “They also always went right to the trigger words the moment he was lucid it looks like. I’m not sure how it will differ just letting him come out of it all the way to himself. Cryo just hasn’t been used for good reasons enough to have much data on it. A normal human body couldn’t handle the changes like he has.”

“What do you mean?” Maximoff asked curiously.

“Well I did a bunch of blood tests and other stuff when I first got here, establishing baselines.” Nora explained, slipping into her element of teaching. “And I also compared those to the results of Captain Rogers. Barnes’ enhancement is different to be sure, but it would seem that the end results are basically the same.” She started rambling on about the science of it all. “Records about the Captain quote Dr. Erskine to have said that his serum would increase everything about a person, including character. He said it would make a good man great and a bad man terrible.” Nora glanced at Rogers when he let out a breath.

“That’s exactly what he told me.” He said softly.

“Right, so, that’s what Zola’s serum did too.” She went on. “Barnes was already a good man, so it just upped that into making him a great man. That’s what shot Hydra in the foot about him I think. He fought them so hard for all these years because the very thing they did to turn him into their weapon was also what made him refuse to be their weapon. They had to wipe his mind over and over because he wouldn’t give in. It’s incredible really because the cryo alone would have destroyed a standard human body and brain, but he has recovered every time.”

“I did not realize so much had been done to him.” Maximoff said quietly, looking at Barnes.

“I guess I never got around to telling you the whole story.” Rogers responded.

“We were a bit busy.” She said with a quirk of the lips. Romanoff returned, Sam Wilson, King T’Challa and half a dozen guards with her. Rogers pulled his eyes away from Barnes and launched into full on Captain mode.

“Alright, Dr. Pence is going to wake him up. We’re not sure how he’s going to come out of it, so we’ll all be ready. Nat and Sam, I’d like you two to focus on keeping Dr. Pence safe if needed. I’ll stay with Bucky, but Wanda be ready to contain him if need be. T’Challa, if you are your men can just keep it all in this room?” T’Challa nodded, and everyone moved to their places. Rogers looked to Nora and nodded. She swallowed and reminded herself that she had worked for Shield and for the Avengers and that this was just a day at the office. The loud hissing noise made by the cryo-tank opening made everyone tense. She moved Barnes out of the chamber and moved the ‘bed’ supporting him to a horizontal position. He was unstrapped and hooked to several different monitors in only a few minutes. Nora looked up from his wrist where she was manually double checking his pulse to find everyone staring intently at Barnes.

“It’s going to take like an hour.” She told them all. “Nothing at all will happen for at least thirty minutes.”

“Oh.” Wilson said with a scoff. “And here I thought we were going all red alert. Pfft.” He sat down in a chair and stretched his legs out. Romanoff rolled her eyes at him. All around everyone relaxed into various positions of comfort, settling in to wait. Rogers came to stand on the other side of Barnes.

“You know a lot about him.” He said softly. “I didn’t realize you had studied him so much beyond his arm.”

“Well it’s all so connected.” Nora said with a shrug. “This thing,” She gestured to his shoulder. “As far as I can tell was amazing. There are repair records on it, but not the original attachment. So I don’t know nearly enough about it. But I do know that giving someone a whole limb that will function just as well and even better than the original isn’t simple. When I have helped Fitz with Coulson’s hand, it was complicated enough, especially at first, and that’s just forearm down. This is all the way to the shoulder and joints are no laughing matter.”

“I still can’t believe Coulson’s alive.” Rogers muttered. Nora laughed.

“Yeah, you should have seen me when I found out that’s who’s hand I had brainstormed with Fitz over. I’m glad that’s in the open now though. I’m glad Shield is back.” Nora said, Rogers nodded but with a slight frown. “Worried about Hydra still?” Nora asked. He made a face and nodded again. “Me too.” She agreed. They both glanced at a monitor when it beeped. “His temperature is just rising.” She said, watching his heart rate rise as well. Before long he would start breathing enough to be visible as well.

“I don’t know that I’ve thanked you enough Dr. Pence.” Rogers said suddenly.

“I haven’t done much yet.” She said with a shrug. Rogers shook his head.

“No, moving here, practically living in this lab, studying Bucky so much. You may not have a lot to show for it yet, but Tony was right in sending you.” He met her eyes and truly smiled, though it was still shadowed. “Thank you.” He said sincerely.

“You’re welcome.” Nora responded in kind. They both looked back to the man lying before them and stayed silent after that. Right at the one-hour mark, Barnes’ eyes fluttered. His vitals had reached normal stats only moments before, and thus far everything had been very quiet. Rogers stepped forward, leaning over Barnes a little.

“Bucky?” He asked. “It’s Steve. We’re waking you up. You’re safe.” His eyes fluttered again and then snapped open, locking on Rogers’ face. His eyes were wide and his breathing and heart rate jumped. “Bucky, it’s me, Steve. I’m here with you and you are safe.” Rogers repeated. Barnes shot up and into a sitting position, looking wildly around the room. Nora backed up and Romanoff moved between Barnes and her, which did not go unnoticed by the man. 

“Bucky?” Rogers called to him, drawing his gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment.

“Steve.” Barnes said at last. Rogers visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, it’s me Buck.” Rogers’ confirmed. When they had been silent for a long moment Nora stepped forward again and cleared her throat a little. Barnes’ gaze snapped to her. “Bucky, this is Dr. Pence. She’s been, well trying to work on your arm while you were . . . out.”

“Hello.” Nora said after a moment of uncomfortably intense eye contact.  _ Crap _ , what did she call him? Just Barnes? Or should she title him? Sargent? He stared at her intensely for a long moment, then glanced down to his shoulder, at which he looked confused. He looked back to Steve, then to Nora, then around the lab, then back at his shoulder. His brow furrowed deeply, then relaxed suddenly, like he had pieced it all back together. He looked back at Nora. “Can I check your vitals?” She asked. He nodded slowly. She stepped up to him, keeping her movements slow as she checked his pulse at his neck and wrist, counted his breaths, and checked his pupils. “How do you feel?” She asked.

“Cold.” He said after a moment. Nora nodded. His temperature was fine, but that still made sense. “Hungry.” He then said, frowning. Steve chuckled. “Do you know your name?”

“Bucky.” He said right away. “James Buchanan Barnes.” He added, as if an afterthought.

“And where are you?” Nora asked.

“Wakanda.” He said simply. “T’Challa let us . . .” He trailed off, looking around the room and finding the man in question. T’Challa nodded to him, and Barnes nodded back.

“Good, good.” Nora said. He looked back at her. “Who else do you know in the room?”

“Steve.” He said, nodding to him. His eyes roved around again. “Wanda. Natasha. Sam.” His eyes came back Nora. “You?” He said it as a question.

“No, you wouldn’t know Dr. Pence. She’s only been here a couple of weeks and—“

“You talked to me.” Barnes said, cutting Rogers’ off, still looking at Nora. “A lot.”

“Oh.” She said, feeling rather warm all of the sudden. “Well, um, yes, I tend to do that. You may not have answered, of course, but yes, I did, uh . . . that is, I always talk to my . . . um.” She trailed off, still staring back into his steady gaze.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Dr. Pence.” She said, repeating Rogers’ introduction. Barnes continued to stare at her.. “Nora.” She added. “Nora Pence.” He nodded, finally looking away from her and back to Rogers.

“I remember. . . you were going to find a way to. . . get Hydra out of. . . my head.” He stumbled through the sentence, but Nora had a feeling it was due more to the topic than his recent awakening.

“Yes.” Rogers said. “And we think we found a way.”

  
\-----------------------------  
  


Bucky watched as the woman frowned in concentration, her eyes narrowed, her teeth worrying at her lower lip. He’d noticed that when he focused his gaze elsewhere and watched her out of his peripheral, she didn’t do the lip thing. If he watched her directly though, she was always nibbling at her lip. He wondered if it was conscious on her part or not, but he tended to think not. She cursed under her breath and Bucky grinned. He flexed his left arm, and though there was no arm there to flex, the mechanisms still whirred to life and shifted. Dr. Pence jumped and cursed again.

“Don’t do that, Barnes.” She said with exasperation, looking up at him.

“Sorry.” He said, not meaning it at all. She shot him a glare, informing him she was on to him, and went back to tinkering with his shoulder. He shifted his gaze to look at the prosthetic arm lying on the table behind her. It looked  _ very _ real, in an almost creepy way. “So I get an arm back today?” He asked.

“Well I’m going to attach it, yes, but there will be a lot of trouble shooting left.” She answered. He frowned, not knowing the term. When he didn’t answer she glanced up at him. “Oh. There will be a lot of little changes and fixes left to do as you try it out.” She rephrased. He nodded. Bucky watched her again, and the lip biting came back. He wanted to point it out to her, but thought it best to wait until the whole arm thing was finished. But then she had been in Wakanda for over two months and was probably ready to go home. Once he had an arm back, she had no reason to stay.

“Dr. Pence.” He said, drawing her attention. She glanced up briefly and then back to his shoulder, humming a ‘ _ hmm? _ ’. “Do I make you uncomfortable?” Her motions froze. He grinned, seeing a blush tinge her neck right above the collar of her lab coat. So he  _ did _ . And based on the way she fully biting at her lip, for good reasons.

“Well, Mr. Barnes,” She started, the tools in her hands moving again. “Prior to your awakening this limb did electrocute me several times, so please pardon me if I’m a little edgy.”

“Ah, yes.” He said, grinning more. She had become very carefully formal that one time he’d come in without a shirt under his hoodie and she’d stared at him for a solid sixty seconds after he’d taken it off before he got her attention. For now though he decided to let her have her moment, leaving it at that.

Twenty minutes later he was trying to uncap a water bottle using his left hand with no success. He frowned and glared at the bottle. 

“Hmm.” Dr. Pence was frowning too. “I wish I had the original arm to just replicate.”

“I’m fine with having a different one, as long as it works.” He said gruffly.

“That’s just it Barnes.” She sighed. “We have to work into the current shoulder because to remove that I would have to take a chunk of your torso as well, so replacing it just isn’t a solid option. But this Hydra tech is just so  _ weird _ and I can’t manage to match up to it, even with the new arm being made of vibranium as well.” She sighed and sagged against the lab table. Bucky put the bottle down and looked at her. It was his arm that was not working right, yet he was more concerned about how upset she was about it, rather than the arm itself.

“Well I’d rather have no arm than the Hydra thing again.” He said, fully meaning it. “Having a Dr. Pence arm is an even better option though.” She chuckled softly, looking up at him.

“What you need is a Stark arm.” She said. Bucky’s expression hardened. This wasn’t the first time she’d made this argument. “He’d be able to work this out in under an hour.”

“Stark doesn’t want to help me.” He ground out.

“But yet he sent me.” She snapped. “Stop being so stubborn about it. At least let me ask for his help.” Bucky looked away from her and glared at the floor. Bucky knew he didn’t deserve Tony Stark’s help, not in the slightest. He hated the reminder that Nora Pence was only there because of Stark, because it reminded him that he didn’t deserve anything about her either. Not her help, not her knowledge, not her blushing lip biting.

“Fine.” Pence said after a moment, her voice much softer than it had been a moment ago, like she had followed his thoughts. She pushed off the table and came over to his arm, pulling up the controls for it with couple of touches. She hadn’t taught him yet, but Bucky knew that when all said and done she planned for him to be able to make basic self-repairs and adjustments. That which had made the limb so realistic was actually just a holograph that he could turn off if he wanted, though he couldn’t think of a reason that he would want to. She tapped away at the interface, her lips moving soundlessly as she muttered to herself. Bucky watched her in silence, reading her lips, but finding only fragmented words rather than complete thoughts.

This Dr. Pence was the best thing about coming out of the freeze, he decided. Except for Wanda’s success with his brain, though even that had been Pence’s idea. Bucky would never be able to sufficiently thank the doctor, Wanda, Steve, T’Challa, or so many others. Falling back in with Steve was nearly like old times, for though neither one of them were the same men anymore the commitment of their friendship was the same. Wanda, Sam, and even T’Challa were new friends,  _ hell, _ friends in general were new, but he was quickly remembering how healthy relationships worked, and very much so enjoying those friendships. Natasha was a different story. He remembered knowing her through the Red Room, remembered training her, and if he focused on it hard enough he thought he remembered times with her that were certainly not  _ training _ . He had told Steve, who had been surprised but not overwhelmingly so. They had compared what little they really knew about the woman and come up with no solid conclusions. Bucky still hadn’t worked up the nerve to really talk that out with her.

Nora Pence though. She was all new. She had talked to him while he was in cryo and though he couldn’t recall ever being aware while frozen before, he remembered most of her words. It had been mindless prattling really, voicing her troubles with his arm or the weird differences in Wakandan tech (or that they were  _ in _ Wakanda, which she wasn’t supposed to know at the time), but he came out of the freeze feeling a comfort with her. And comfort was something he would never take for granted ever again. Then there was her obvious attraction to him. Based on what he remembered from before the fall, that wasn’t out of the norm, but since then he had no knowledge of such things (except maybe Natasha but he still just wasn’t ready to unpack that yet). It was . . . nice. He liked the way she looked when her skin tinged with red. The way she refused to avoid his gaze, like she was challenging him to point out her blush. He considered it every time, but he couldn’t guess what her next action would be, and he wasn’t quite sure enough of himself to risk that. Yet. 

“Alright, try that.” She directed, pulling him from his thoughts and motioning to the water bottle. Bucky frowned and reached with his left hand to grasp it. He carefully controlled his expression when the hand moved just as he wanted. He held the bottle in both hands and carefully twisted the cap off. It was such a simple thing, but he felt a smile form anyway. He looked up at Dr. Pence. She smiled back. “That looked better.” She observed. He nodded.

“It didn’t resist at all.” He said. Bucky then closed the lid, flipped the bottle into the air and caught it. He grinned more.

“Heads up.” He looked up to her and his new metal hand whipped up, trying to catch the pen she had thrown at him but missing it. He flinched in surprise when the pen hit him in the face. “Oh!” Dr. Pence’s yelped pulled Bucky’s gaze to her. He felt his face split in a grin at her horrified expression: eyes wide, hands covering her mouth, shoulders tensed up.

“Oh sh-- I am so sorry.” She gasped from behind her hands. “I don’t know what-- I thought it would be-- but clearly I didn’t really-- I’m so sorry.” Bucky just kept grinning at her throughout her fragmented apology. She finally lowered her hands, her expression still agast.

“ _ Stop _ grinning.” She said, her voice low. She looked away from him, but he could see the small embarrassed grin pulling at her own lips. He tried to get the smile off his face, he really did, but it wasn’t budging and honestly, Bucky liked smiling too much to care.

“Maybe it’s not  _ quite _ ready for that yet.” He told the doctor. She looked back at him with an exasperated expression.

“Thank you for that observation, Mr. Barnes.” She deadpanned. Bucky grinned some more. 

\-----------------------------

Steve hadn’t been expecting the gift, but he was very thankful. He knew it would be a touchy subject whenever he fully encountered Tony again, but whatever the future results, he was glad to have a shield again.

“This is great.” He said with a grin. T’Challa smiled back and Dr. Pence positively beamed.

“I made Captain America a new shield.” She stated. “That’s going in my obit when I die. Highlight of life.” Steve chuckled.

“You can’t seriously be more proud of  _ that _ ,” Bucky said from Steve’s side, gesturing to the shield. “Than you are of  _ this. _ ” He lifted his new left arm. Dr. Pence made a face.

“Well, as far as design and actual work goes, no.” She said. “But it’s  _ Captain America’s shield. _ I mean come on!” She turned to T’Challa. “Thank you so much for allowing me to work so much with vibranium. Your people have really mastered it and it’s just an incredible substance.” He nodded deeply to her.

“It has been an honor having you in our labs.” He responded in his deep baritone. “It’s not common for an outsider to do so, but I could not have chosen a better group to host.”

“Arm’s still better.” Bucky stage whispered. Dr. Pence laughed, as did Steve.

“Alright, Buck, let’s go then.” Steve said. “That’s what we’re out here for, right? So let’s see just how well that arm holds up.”

“Yes, yes!” Dr. Pence said, clapping her hands together once. “So Barnes really focus on using your left;  _ really _ try it out. And Cap, go at it. But the moment any real damage happens, stop so I can check it out.” Both men nodded. “And . . . go.” She said with a grin. Bucky chuckled lowly and moved out to the center of the sparring ring. The valley T’Challa’s main labs were nestled in gave for some highly impressive views, and this cleared training area was no exception. The king and the doctor stood with the buildings at their backs and faced across the ring, at the end of which was a drop off that ended in a river far below. Steve followed and faced off to Bucky. One quick grin and his best friend flew into action. Bucky’s strikes were fast and many, and for a moment, Steve stayed on defense, analyzing Bucky’s style. During the war, he would have known the man’s every move, but in the years since Bucky had become a different kind of soldier and a different kind of fighter. Though they had battled before, this was actually the first time they had spared in over seventy years. It didn’t take long before the two were clashing hard, evenly matched and landing blow for blow nearly.

When Steve got a hit with his shield right on Bucky’s left elbow, both men stepped apart and looked to Dr. Pence, who came hurrying over. She inspected Bucky’s arm fully, scanning it with what looked like a cell phone but Steve assumed was much more. There didn’t seem to be any damage and the doctor had Bucky go through a range of movements to test it all out, then set the arm to running its own diagnostics. When she was satisfied, she left the ring and the two friends went back at it, both grinning.

Hours later Dr. Pence declared Bucky’s arm finished.

“Of course, it’s still just basic.” She chattered on as they walked back into the complex. “Just an arm. A strong arm, but still. There are so many ideas I have for extra tricks we can,  _ literally _ , put up your sleeve.”

“I’m content with this for now.” Bucky said, slinging the arm in question over Dr. Pence’s shoulders and pulling her to his side as they walked. “Thank you, Nora.” He said softly. Steve looked at them, grinning. Seeing Bucky’s natural charm shine through was one thing that made him truly believe that his friend was still fully there, despite the changes.

“Oh, um, well of course.” Dr. Pence stuttered, looking rather flushed, but not pulling away. “It’s been, well an annoying as hell challenge, but great to have accomplished.” Bucky nodded, not removing his arm.

“We should celebrate!” Steve announced. “Sam keeps saying he’s dying for a few beers and a football game. How about it?” Bucky shrugged, but smiled at Steve, so he knew that was an agreement. “Doctor?” Steve asked.

“Oh. Well. Sure.” She said. “It’s just . . . I’m not one for beer or football, but the company sounds good.” Steve nodded, settling it. He caught Bucky’s eyes over the woman’s head and raised a brow at him. Bucky  _ winked _ and followed it up with an eye roll and mouthing the word ‘punk’. Steve grinned. Yep, things were looking alright at the moment.

  
  


Nora frowned at the newscaster, annoyed with the ridiculously misrepresenting words. She had been back in the states, back working at the Avengers compound, for just over a month. As of this week, Rogers and company were back too. When she had left Wakanda, she knew that they were all in the process of returning to the US, and that it would not be a smooth transition. The current news report was an example of that.

_ “Though the woman known as Black Widow so famously blasted all his info on to the web,” _ The reporter said with what Nora considered far too much dramatization.  _ “Nearly all the files on this ‘Winter Soldier’ have since been thoroughly retracted. What we do know is horrifying though.” _ She went on to list many of the atrocities credited to Winter Soldier.  _ “Now they are trying to tell us that he was stripped of his free will and none of that was actually him, but the dreaded Hydra.” _ Nora glared at the woman, hating her stupid skeptical tone, stupid blonde hair, stupid bright blue suit jacket, and every other stupid thing about her more and more.  _ “Why would we want this man within our borders? How can we trust him to not only just live on, but to ‘protect us’? Are the Avengers, the so called protectors of earth, really capable of defending us when they welcome into their ranks the very people they should be protecting us from?” _ Nora scoffed and turned the TV off.

“Ridiculous.” She muttered. “The only person who needs to be protected from Bucky Barnes is himself.” She cringed as she thought of him seeing this stuff in the media. She knew Rogers would try to protect him from it, but she also knew from her time tweaking Barnes arm that he was better with tech than Rogers was and there was no way to keep it away from him. She tossed the remains of her lunch in the breakroom trash can and headed back to the lab, wondering when or if she would run into Barnes or Rogers again, now that they were all back in the same area. Rumors were that they were both going to be living at the Avengers compound with others of the team, but as far as Nora knew those rumors were not based on any actual knowledge.

“Oh.” She jumped, rounding a corner to the hall leading to her lab only to find the very men she had just been thinking of. “Hi.” She said blankly.

“Hello Dr. Pence.” Rogers said.

“Doc.” Barnes echoed. They all just stared for a moment. Rogers looked just the same: his boy-next-door-if-the-boy-next-door-was-on-steroids classic look in place. Barnes however was quite changed: he’d had a major haircut since the last time Nora had seen him, and his face didn’t look quite as gaunt any more, though there were still signs of permanent exhaustion. 

“You’re back.” Nora said at length. “Obviously. And you know, you’re all over the news.” She cringed, betting that was the worst thing she could have said. “But mostly, you know, you’re standing in front of me, so yeah . . . back.” She trailed off lamely. “Yeah.” She looked away, cursing her awkwardness.

“Yeah.” Barnes agreed, and she glanced up at him when she heard the smirk in his voice. She narrowed her eyes, knowing he was ready to tease her as he had many times in Wakanda, but glad he at least wasn’t offended by her tactless words. “Arm’s been funny though.” He held up his left hand. Nora almost rolled her eyes: as if she doubted which arm he meant?

“Oh?” She asked, finally walking the rest of the hallway to the lab door, the two men following her in. “Well that’s a little disappointing but not surprising.” She flicked on a few more machines. “It will really help having you back here though with the equipment I know better. Have a seat and I’ll see what’s up.” She took a breath, putting herself back in doctor and tech mode, willing herself to ignore the ways Barnes watched her or the flutter in her stomach when Rogers left them ‘alone’ (but really it was a glass walled room and there were 5 other techs within sight).

“How are you enjoying being home?” Barnes asked. She looked at him, surprised to hear him making small talk.

“How about you?” She countered. “It’s a bigger change for you.”

“Yeah, which is why I asked you instead of offering my own thoughts.” He said back, his voice tighter, but the quirk of his lips still there.

“But me being home includes this lab and netflix on my couch, while your story would actually be worth talking about.” She said, examining his arm by touch first. “Anything happen to it? What’s it been doing wrong?” She asked. Barnes answered and she followed with more questions, setting up a scan before coming back to the first topic.

“So how has it been?” She asked, looking him in the eye, watching his expression.

“Media is having a field day.” He said with a shrug. “But my case has been pled and while I’m here on strict conditions right now it’s looking like I’m going to be acquitted of all crimes against the US.” Nora’s eyes widened.

“Oh my gosh Barnes that’s great!” She said honestly. He shrugged again, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace. “You’re not happy about that?” She questioned, confused.

“No, I am.” He said quickly. “It’s just . . .” He trailed off, looking away from her and to his left arm. “It may be a weird situation, but I still . . .” He went quiet again. Nora studied his face for a long moment.

“Are you . . .” She started, sure she was about to cross some professional line but doing it anyway. “Are you finding it hard to forgive yourself the way others are forgiving you?” She asked. Barnes’ gaze snapped back up to her. She held her breath, caught in the intensity of his eyes.  _ Shit. Yep. Overstepped. _ She thought. Barnes swallowed hard.

“Yeah.” He said at length, his voice rough. Nora pressed her lips together, frowning. She knew she couldn’t say anything to help him with his. Plus she was sure that Rogers had said everything that could possibly be said. They stared at each other until the scan of his arm dinged. Nora blinked a few times, looking away from him and trying to remember how to make sense of the scan.

“Um, okay, so I think this might be the problem.” She said, turning both of their attention back to the task at hand. “Hmm. Let me start with . . . yeah, I can try this and see.” Barnes nodded, watching her as she went to work on his arm.


	2. In which movie night is established

Several weeks after Rogers and Barnes and Co. returned to the States, Nora clicked off her TV, reminding herself that binge-watching would always be there tomorrow as well. She dumped her dishes in her sink, deciding to wash them later and headed to her bedroom. She shared the small apartment with her cousin Bethany, but they both frequently had the place to themselves since Beth traveled a lot with her job in fashion and Nora, at least as of late, was gone more often than not as well. Tonight Beth was in . . . L.A.? Nora wasn’t sure but knew she would be back the day after next. So when there was a knock on the door, Nora was a little surprised. She glanced at her watch. 10:48pm. Not super late, but too late for casual callers. She stopped at her purse to grab her handgun, positioning herself so that it would be ready but hidden behind the door as she opened it. Silently cursing the lack of peephole, she opened the door partway. The man standing there was the last person she had ever expected to see at her door.

“Barnes?” She gasped. “Wha--?” She trailed off, staring at him. He gave her a grimace that she thought might have been intended as a smile and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

“Hello Nor-- Dr. Pence.” He said gruffly. He cleared his throat. “Could I, um, come in?” He asked, his voice a little smoother. Nora nodded mutely and opened the door further, waving him in. She engaged the safety on her gun and set it on a shelf by the door. She looked back at Barnes to see him staring at the gun.

“I, uh--” She started, unsure what to say. “It’s kind of late. I didn’t expect anyone.” He nodded, then met her gaze. She swallowed, staring back. _What_ was he doing here?

“Shit.” He said suddenly. He ran a hand through his hair almost viciously and started pacing her short entryway. “I don’t know why I’m here. I shouldn’t have come.” He said, his voice low. Nora frowned, even more confused. “I’m-- sorry.” He moved towards the door but had to stop as Nora hadn’t moved yet. “I’ll leave now.” He offered.

“Why?” Nora asked. Barnes didn’t reply. “ _Why_ are you here and _why_ would you leave already? What is going on Barnes?” She crossed her arms and stared at him. He made a noise of frustration and before Nora realized what was happening he had picked her up at the shoulders, lifted her off her feet and turned so that she was facing the door with him between her and it. Then he turned and went out, leaving the door open in his haste.

“What?” Nora hissed. “Wait, no!” She ran out the door after him. “Barnes!” She called down the hall. “Wait!” He stopped with his hand on the front door. She moved around him and slipped herself between him and the door, pushing his hand away. She caught her breath, this putting her a lot closer to him than she had thought through. She was fairly tall, so he didn’t tower over her, but the scowl he had fixed on his face made her feel rather small. She hesitated, the files of his past coming unbidden to her mind. Sure, he truly hadn’t done any of those things of his free will, but physically he was capable of such things. She quickly berated herself and pictured instead the man she had taught how to use Snapchat, puppy dog face filter included. That made her smile a little and gave her resolve. It was true that a friendship had been struck during the hours spent on his arm, but if he was showing up unannounced at her door (and how did he know where she lived anyway?), then something was up.

“Barnes.” She started slowly. “You can’t just pop up like this and then leave with barely a word.” He didn’t respond, didn’t shift his expression at all. She sighed. “Look, come back in and let's-- let's talk, I don’t know. Or you can sit there and brood in silence, but just let me know that you’re not . . . well, I’ll be honest, not cracking up.” She shrugged, feeling no need to sugar coat it. He stared down at her, his expression going nearly blank, and then nodded once. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Cool. Okay.” She grabbed his hand, the left, and then walked back to her apartment, him following without resistance. He seemed to have shut down almost, sitting on the couch she led him too and staring at the floor. She watched him for a moment, gnawing at her lip.

“Okay.” She went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water, coming back to offer it to Barnes. “I’m going to throw it in your face if you don’t take the damn glass.” She snapped after a minute. He started a little as if just noticing that she was there, then took the glass but didn’t drink it. “Does Rogers know where you are or is he having a heart attack right now?” Barnes gave a small shrug. She rolled her eyes.

“Gosh, Bucky, I don’t know what’s up but this was stupid.” She mumbled, then sat next to him and held out her hand. “Phone.” He looked at her blankly. “Give me your phone so I can call Rogers.” His expression tightened but he pulled the phone out and handed it to her. She opened his contacts (there was only five people listed, including a _Dr. Nora Pence_ , which she noted with surprise) and dialed Steve Rogers.

“Thank god Buck, where are you?” Rogers’ voice came through after only half a ring.

“It’s Nora Pence.” She said with a sigh. “He’s at my place.” Silence.

“He-- what?” Rogers said. “How did-- why would-- where do you even live?” Nora couldn’t help but smile a bit at the stammering Captain America.

“Yeah, I don’t know.” She agreed, leaning back on the couch and looking at Barnes. “Any of that. Well, I do know where I live, but how or why he’s here, that I’ve got nothing on.” She waved a hand in front of Barnes and he vaguely flinched away from her, frowning. “He’s off though.” She didn’t bother to ‘code’ her words. Barnes was a smart man. Whatever was troubling him, he knew that it was doing so, and she didn’t see a point in treating him like a child. “I don’t know what to do.” She admitted. 

“Text me your address and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Yeah, hold on.” She put the phone down. “Barnes. Hey, _Bucky_ .” He looked up at her. “Rogers-- Steve wants to come. Is that okay?” She thought she heard an ‘ _oh I’m coming_ ’ from the phone in her lap. Barnes stared at her, then muttered a ‘yeah’, before looking away again. Nora quickly texted her address to Rogers.

“Okay, we’ll see you soon.” She said, then hung up. Nora stared at Barnes for a while, just watching the very subtle play of emotions across his face.

“Want to talk about it?” She asked. He didn’t respond. “Want a beer?” She tried next. He looked up at her frowning.

“You don’t like beer.” He finally said.

“True.” She agreed. “Which is why I actually have hard cider and not beer.” She got up and went to the frig, keeping an eye on him as she did so. She grabbed two ciders and popped the caps before coming back. “Try one of these. Way better than beer anyway.” He automatically took the drink, now holding a bottle in one hand and glass of water in the other. Nora would have giggled if he didn’t look so distraught.

“Alright, so you don’t want to talk, sure, but I think I deserve at least to know why you came _here_. And how you knew where I live.” She sat back on the couch and faced him. He lifted the water glass to his lips and downed it, placing the empty glass on the side table. Then he took a swig of the cider and cringed.

“Way too sweet.” He stated. Nora scoffed. He kept hold of the bottle though, staring at the contents for a long while. “I should have stayed in Wakanda.” He shook his head. “No, I shouldn’t have stayed there, but I shouldn’t have come here.”

“I saw you only days ago and you seemed to be doing well,” Nora observed. “What changed?” Barnes cringed.

“Being here. It’s just--” He trailed off, then took a deep breath. “Your address was easy. You’re a Stark employee. I just asked the weird voice that runs the compound.”

“Friday.” Nora supplied. “Stark named her Friday.” Barnes made a face that let her know how strange he found the AI but nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. But why come here?” She asked. He shrugged. “That’s so not good enough.” He sighed.

“I . . . I don’t remember ever being aware of anything while in cryo before.” He started. “But this last time, I heard you all the time. I don’t know what made the difference. Probably not getting wiped right before going in, I guess.” Nora cringed, hating Hydra all over again. Barnes went on. “The others are great, they really are. It’s almost . . . Almost like the Howling Commandos again.” He smiled a little. “A bunch of badass idiots taking down the bad guys. Stuff of bedtime stories.” He looked up at Nora, meeting her eyes and holding her there. “You though . . . I don’t know. You’re not Steve, whose devotion is stupid, but I get it. And you’re not the others, who basically gave me a try only because of Steve.” Nora rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on--” She cut off at his look. “Alright, it probably started that way. But now . . .” Barnes shrugged. 

“It doesn’t matter. Point is when . . . Tonight I needed to . . . Not be there.” He went on. “But I didn’t want to . . . Be alone.” His voice faltered. “ I just thought about you.” He looked away, and Nora was amazed to see that he seemed embarrassed. So, of course, she had to pick at it, because embarrassed was better than probably any other place in his head.

“I’m sorry,” Nora said. “But take a moment with me here.” She grinned at him. “The Winter _freaking_ Soldier is sitting on my couch with a _hard cider_ talking about his _emotions_.” Barnes scowled and leaned sideways to bump into her.

“Shut up.” He muttered. Nora saw the grin he was holding back though.

“It’s just surreal.” She said with a shrug, fully grinning herself. “So here’s your Dr. Pence orders, because I am totally not a head doctor and know nothing about what I am about to say, but I think you just need a friend to chill with is what it is.” He looked at her blankly. “Look, you’re trying to figure out how to do life outside of being a weapon or a soldier, but yet what do you and Rogers do most of the time?”

“Train. Spar. Talk about everything that has happened since the ‘40s.” Barnes said.

“So that history catch up is good, but the other stuff isn’t a ton different than what you did with them.” Nora knew she didn’t need to say _Hydra_ for him to know what she meant. “So maybe that’s not the best thing for bringing you into who you are now. You’re not a WWII soldier, but you’re not a soviet asset either.” Barnes flinched a little and Nora noted to maybe avoid that term in future. “You’re a new man now. So open up the possibilities of who that man can be.” She finished with a shrug.

“How?” He asked at length.

“Hang out.” She said with another shrug. “Take a walk in the park. Go bowling. See a movie and get sick on popcorn. Go to a bar and-- well you can’t get drunk so never mind that. But you get the idea, right?” She asked. “Do stuff that isn’t Avenger related.”

“I might start a riot if I go out in public like that.” Barnes pointed out. “Recently the most wanted man in the world, remember?” He flashed a bitter grin.

“Meh, that does add a level of challenge,” Nora admitted. “But that will fade. In the meantime, you are always welcome here for a movie night or a real food dinner. And I’ve heard rumors that Stark has a home theater at the compound, so there's movies. Oh, I could make you a list of all the stuff you need to see! And reading is great too. Read lots of different stuff, histories, fictions, you name it. Just mix it up and do more than _fight_.” Nora smiled encouragingly at him and took a drink. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He said after a pause. He was silent again but then nodded, appearing to be in deep thought. They didn’t talk anymore before there was another knock at the door. Nora went to it, realizing that she was about to answer the door to Captain America while wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt, something she hadn’t thought about with Barnes.

“Dr. Pence,” Rogers said by way of greeting.

“Captain Rogers.” She said back, trying to pull some professionalism in despite the oddity of the situation. “He’s okay.” She said, letting Rogers come into to her apartment and watching him head straight to Barnes. She closed the door but stayed by it, watching the two men but unable to hear their low voices. She could see Rogers’ face though not Barnes’, but Rogers' expression went from worried, to just deeply sad, then there was a flash of entertainment and a glance towards Nora. She bit her lip, highly curious about what caused that. She wondered what Rogers thought about Barnes coming here, but as she didn’t even know what _she_ thought of him coming here, she decided not overthink that. Rogers nodded and clapped Barnes on the shoulder. Both men stood and headed towards the door. Barnes took another swallow of the hard cider, then grimaced again and handed it to Nora when he reached her.

“Thanks, but that’s awful.” He said. She laughed.

“You’re just too old to appreciate it.” She joked lightly, taking the bottle. He gave a short chuckle that was really just a exhale of air through his nose, then buried his hands in his pockets.

“I feel like a damn runaway teenager.” He mumbled. Nora couldn’t help but laugh, though she later thought about how inappropriate that was.

“If I had runaways like you showing up at my house when I was a teen my dad would have locked me up in a tower.” She said with a smile. “Good thing you’re actually a grown man who’s been through the worst kind of hells and just needed a break.” He looked up and met her eyes, his expression odd and not quite readable. “I mean it about about a real dinner and a hang out escape.” She went on, looking to Rogers. “You too, Captain. You’ve both got the ‘man out of his time’ thing going, so if you just need some evenings of catching up on what you missed, or heck revisiting the ‘30s and ‘40s, paired with a homecooked meal . . . well let me know.” She smiled at them both.

“That sounds nice, Dr. Pence,” Rogers said with a smile. “I’d love to take you up on that.” He looked to Barnes.

“Yeah. Thanks.” He said, meeting Nora’s gaze and holding it. “That would be . . . that’d be great.”

“Cool.” She said, her chest suddenly tight and her voice too high, but honestly pleased. “Um, this week?”

“Friday?” Rogers asked. “Unless you have plans.” He added quickly.

“Nope,” Nora said. “Why don’t we, uh, swap numbers?” She stuttered over the question, the craziness of asking _Captain America_ for his phone number not lost on her.

“I have yours,” Barnes said.

“Oh. Yes. That’s right.” Nora confirmed, remembering giving Barnes a business card, but was struck again by how strange it had been to see her name listed in his contacts with a handful of Avengers and no one else. “Um, well you could both text me so I’ll have yours? Then I’ll let you know what I’m thinking for dinner and you can veto if you want.”

“I’m sure it will be wonderful,” Rogers said sincerely. “Thank you again.” Nora nodded. “We’ll let you go now. Sorry for the lateness.” 

“Oh, uh, yeah, no worries.” She said awkwardly. “Uh, bye.” Barnes raised a brow at her, his lips pulling at one side. “Shut up and get out of here.” She muttered, shoving him lightly towards the door. Rogers flashed a pleased smile at them both, leading the way out the door, Barnes following him.

“Goodnight Nora.” Barnes tossed over his shoulder as he walked down the hall.

\-------------------------------

“Didn’t . . . didn’t your mom used to make lasagna?” Bucky asked. Steve smiled, glancing away from the road and to his friend.

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “It was your favorite. She’d invite you over every time she made it.” Bucky nodded. “That what Dr.-- what Nora is making?” Steve asked, correcting himself on the doctor’s name. It was hard to let go of professionalism, but anyone who was helping Bucky so much was a friend to Steve, not just a colleague.

“Yeah,” Bucky said simply, tapping at the phone in his hands. Steve smiled again, finding it funny to see Bucky texting, though it hadn’t been long ago that he himself was stumbling through the wonders of new tech. They arrived at Nora’s apartment and were greeted in the hall by the wonderful smells of Italian food. Steve felt his stomach rumbled a bit at it. Bucky shot him a grin, his hearing picking up on the sound. Steve grinned ruefully.

“I had meetings all day and barely got lunch.” He defended. Bucky grimaced and Steve knew he found the idea of all-day meetings abhorrent. Nora opened the door after only one short knock.

“Hello!” She beamed cheerfully. Steve smiled at her, but watched Bucky out of the corner of his eye. The woman had her hair loosely up and framing her face (which was, as usual, free of the awful amounts of makeup so many women wore now), and was wearing a ruffled apron over her casual clothes and had one oven mitt on. Bucky stilled completely and just stared at her for a long moment. Nora didn’t seem to notice, waving them in and hurrying off towards her kitchen, saying something about making themselves at home.

“You alright there, Buck?” Steve asked, nudging the man. Bucky started and looked away from where Nora had disappeared into the kitchen.

“Fine.” He said, almost snapping the word out. Steve grinned. “Shut up, punk.” Bucky murmured, finally going into the apartment, shrugging his jacket off and hanging it on a hook near the door. Steve did likewise and the two men wandered to the kitchen where Nora was cutting a large pan of lasagna.

“I remembered what the serum did for both your appetites so I made tons.” She explained. “There’s bread and salad on the table already, but if one of you could grab the bottle of wine out of the fridge?” She slipped past them and into the dining area. Steve motioned for Bucky to follow her while he got the wine.

“So.” Steve heard Nora say. “Should we sit and eat and then watch the movie, or eat in the living room while we watch the movie?” Steve paused, wondering what Bucky would say.

“Uh, does it . . . make a difference?”

“Well, it’s a rather long movie, but I’m in no rush so . . .”

“Me neither,” Bucky said. Steve grinned, hearing an edge of charm in the words. He came around the corner and unsurprisingly found Bucky with his hands buried in his pockets but a lopsided smirk on his face while Nora was fiddling with her hands and looking rather pink.

“What’s the movie?” Steve asked.

“Ben Hur,” Nora answered. “It’s from ‘59 and still a total classic. One of my absolute favorites.” Steve smiled and nodded, thinking an ‘older’ movie sounded nice. So many of the new ones he’d seen weren’t to his liking. He looked to Bucky, giving him a questioning look. Bucky shrugged.

“Movie sounds good.” He said.

“Okay, cool.” Nora bounced around the table, handing them each a plate and then dishing out large portions of lasagna. Steve noted that she seemed a lot jumpier and high energy than normal. Was it due to being nervous? Steve had never really seen her nervous since she was always very in her element at the labs. They all filled their plates and settled into the living room, Steve taking the chair and leaving the couch for Bucky and Nora. Bucky shot him a look, but Steve refused to acknowledge it. The evening passed nicely, the food was wonderful, the movie enjoyable. Steve and Bucky exchanged looks at the way the two childhood friends had been torn apart by their own choices and Steve knew he wasn’t the only one comparing how very different their own friendship was in spite of everything.

The movie had just hit the credit roll when all three watchers turned at the sound of the front door opening. Bucky stiffened and half rose to his feet before forcing himself back down.

“Oh! Beth!” Nora jumped up, heading towards the door. “You said you’d be out all night with the benefit.” A woman who looked vaguely like Nora had entered, stopping with her hand still on the door handle, looking over the room and raising her eyebrows.

“I would have been, but honestly it was a bore so I managed to get out early.” The woman answered, her gaze going back and forth between Steve and Bucky before finally coming to rest on Nora. “I didn’t know I’d be party crashing.”

“Oh, no!” Nora said, and Steve was certain now that her jumpiness was due to nerves. She had settled down during the movie but all the fidgety tension was back now. “This is, uh, Steve and Bucky . . . from work.” She waved a hand towards the men. Steve smiled and waved. Bucky looked at Steve and then back to Beth and Nora, giving a very forced looking smile. “We just . . . movie night.” Nora said.

“Mmm-hmm.” Beth nodded, finally coming in the door all the way and closing it. “Nor, would you help with something real fast?” She grabbed Nora by the arm and hauled her down the hall. Steve grinned at Bucky.

“I don’t think Nora planned on telling her roommate that two superheroes were coming over for dinner.” He joked. Bucky rolled his eyes.

  
  


\-------------------------------

“From _work_?” Beth hissed. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Depends on who you think it is?” Nora asked falteringly, buying for time.

“Captain America is sitting in my recliner!” Beth whisper shouted. “When did Captain America become a ‘have over for dinner and movie’ kind of a co-worker? You said you’d met him but this is so different!”

“Well, yeah, it’s actually kind of a long . . .” Nora trailed off at the look Beth gave her. “Well, it is!” She defined. “But fine. I . . . well I guess I befriended, uh, Bucky Barnes and--”

“Bucky Barnes?” Beth gasped. “The Bucky Barnes on the news? The _Winter Soldier_? Is that who that other guy is?” Beth’s ability to whisper was lessening with every word.

“Yes, now shush!” Nora berated. “He’s a great guy and totally recovering--”

“From being an assassin!”

“This is why I didn’t say anything!” Nora sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look. He’s not dangerous. I’ve actually known him for months. That long work trip I went on? I was working with him.”

“With him?” Beth prompted.

“I . . . built him a new arm.” Nora said, figuring she’d just get in out there. Beth’s jaw dropped. “Look, can we talk about this more later? They’re still out there, hopefully, but the movie’s over so I doubt they will stay much longer.” Beth’s mouth stayed hanging open, which Nora decided to take as a yes and left her cousin to return to the living room. Steve and Bucky were _not_ still there and for a moment Nora’s heart sank, worried they’d heard the conversation and left, but then she heard _click_ s and _clink_ s coming from the kitchen. Turns out, Steve and Bucky really were raised in the generation of gentlemen because the two were doing the damn dishes and cleaning up the kitchen.

“Oh, hey.” Steve flashed her a smile. “We didn’t know how you wanted to store leftovers but that’s all that’s left to do.” He motioned to the counter were the salad and bread were sitting, both only half finished while the lasagna hadn’t survived in the least.

“Oh, goodness,” Nora said, grabbing some plastic wrap and setting to covering the food. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“We know,” Bucky said, giving Nora a grin. “But for food like that, I’d wash ten times as many dishes.” Nora felt herself blush and looked down to focus on her task.

“Well that’s, uh-- thanks, but I also meant that I have a dishwasher.” She pointed to the machine. Both men stepped back and looked at it with confusion.

“Oh,” Bucky said.

“I keep forgetting about those,” Steve added. Nora grinned and tried to stifle her giggle.

“Well thank you. Now I don’t even have to worry about putting any of it away later. Though honestly, we end up just using things right out of the machine before we take the time to get things back in the cabinets.”

“So, uh, the roommate . . .” Bucky said. “She packing a bag to make a run for it?”

“Heh. No.” Nora said. “I don’t think so anyway. I just, uh, didn’t really tell her about you guys.” Nora let out a sigh and leaned back on the counter. “She knows where I work and all, but she didn’t know about Wakanda or how much interaction I have with you guys now. It’s still kind of surreal to me sometimes.”

“Well, she should join us for the next movie night,” Steve suggested after a moment of silence. “If you’re offering another one that is.” He hurriedly added.

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Nora said quickly. “I mean, I enjoyed tonight. You guys at least liked the lasagna though you had all the right reactions at all the right moments in the movie so I’m guessing you like it too.” Bucky and Steve both nodded. “Yes,” Nora said, giving a dramatic fist raise. The two men left soon after, Beth still not emerging from her bedroom. Nora said goodnight and Steve promised that Bucky would let her know when they were free next. Nora didn’t miss the little glare Bucky sent Steve at this, but the way Steve just grinned made her think that Bucky’s glare wasn’t about real anger.

Nora sighed after closing the door, knowing she had a lot to fill her cousin in on, but also that Beth would think that there was more than there really was. The biggest problem was that Nora really wanted to believe that right along with Beth. But with a man just learning how to live again, one really didn’t do well to read more into any situation than was face value.

  
\-------------------------------

Dinner and movie didn’t become a weekly occurrence, but very close to it. Bucky was only more than glad to devour Nora’s cooking, deal with awkward staring from her cousin Beth, and watch whatever movie Nora declared was next on her ‘catching you up to date on all the really important stuff’ list. Beth even warmed up to him a little bit after the first several nights, throwing out jokes and teasing him about being in the wrong century just as Nora did. The first of such jokes had caused what Bucky deemed to be an overdramatic reaction from Nora, who gasped out loud and stared at Beth in horror until Bucky dropped the deadpan expression and smirked. It had been a well-placed jab and he had to applaud the woman for it. Steve finally suggested the women come over to ‘their’ place for an evening, which in Bucky’s opinion was the worst call ever. The night was mostly awful as far as he was concerned. Half the team ended up joining them and the movie was abandoned for some card game about fruit and matching words and it really just made no sense at all, but everyone seemed to laugh a lot. Bucky found himself not giving a damn about the game but rather just enjoying Nora’s laughter. The flush of her skin from laughing until she couldn’t breathe was much different than her blush of mild embarrassment but no less appealing. All and all though, Bucky preferred evenings at Nora and Beth’s than at the compound.

Except for one night. Bucky had managed to slip his way out of some press event at a weekend conference, his poor public behavior having its upsides, leaving him as the only resident of the Avenger’s living quarters for the night. He’d thought it sounded great at first, but by shortly after 7 pm he felt the panic coming on that being too alone often brought.

“Pull it together man.” He told himself harshly, though he knew it was no good. He racked his brain for what to do. He’d learned lots of techniques for fending off the attacks, but nothing that worked well consistently. Except for people. The right people anyway. Before the thought had fully formed he found himself halfway across the compound and walking into Nora’s lab. By sheer dumb luck, she was still there. He stopped in the doorway and just stared at her. She was perched on a stool and tapping away at a keyboard, her lips moving in her standard fragmented whispers. Her hair was pulled up in a clip, the loose strands brushing at her neck and face. Her lab coat sleeves were scrunched up at her elbows, and her high-heeled shoes were off her feet and laying under the desk, her now too long pants fully covering her feet.

It was this last detail that struck Bucky most for some reason. That she was still in the lab at 7 pm, fully immersed in her work, her heels discarded. . . there was something strangely comforting about the scene. A woman so advanced in her field that she’d build him a new arm using only unfamiliar equipment, and yet so comfortable in her work that she looked just as capable in bare feet. Bucky held his breath as he was overcome by the desire to cross the lab and pull her into his arms and kiss her. He could hear the startled gasp, feel how her body would tense before melting into him, see the way her cheeks would deepen in color when they parted. The idea of someday kissing her had crossed his mind before, but never in such an overwhelming--

“Oh, Bucky!” Nora’s voice snapped him from his thoughts and he refocused on her. She had turned on her stool, though she hadn’t stood up, and was looking at him with a confused smile. “I didn’t expect to see you around here tonight.” She commented. Bucky said nothing, staring at her pant-hidden bare feet again. “Is there . . . something wrong with your arm?” She asked at length. He looked up to her face and shook his head. Why _was_ he here again?

“I, uh . . .” he started, no idea what he was going to say but just running with it. “I wanted to see if you were free to join me for dinner. And a movie? I heard Clint say if you tip enough you can get pizza delivered to the front gate. And since you’re still here, clearly, I figured you probably haven’t had dinner and neither have I so maybe we . . .” He trailed off. _Damn, I’m rambling on like she does._ He berated himself. His frown only lasted a moment though because Bucky found it nearly impossible not to smile when Nora beamed at him like that.

“Bucky, you read my mind.” She said, slipping off the stool. “I was going to call in a pizza on my way home. This sounds so much better.” She wiggled her feet back into her heels, Bucky watching as she seemed to grow several inches in height. Nora wasn’t a great deal shorter than he was to begin with and with the heels on she was only an inch or two off. Bucky forced a slow breath as Nora shut down her equipment. _Stop thinking about kissing her._ He told himself firmly.

“What kind of pizza do you want?” Nora asked, walking towards the door. He stepped to the side and fell in step beside her, shrugging.

“You know I’ll eat anything.” He said.

“That’s very true.” Nora laughed. She dialed a number and put in an order for three large supreme pizzas and a tub of cookie dough, directing the delivery to the front gates and promising a large tip. “Friday,” She said after she hung up. “Please let Jon at the front gate know there is pizza coming and that we are on our way.”

“Of course, Dr. Pence.” The A.I. answered. Even still, Bucky wasn’t quite used to the way the voice just seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. “Shall I inform him that you intend to share or is the entire order for you and Mr. Barnes?” Nora laughed.

“You got me Friday.” She confirmed. “One pizza is for the guys up front.” Bucky grinned, wondering that Nora was on first name bases with the guards and even getting them pizza. They walked up the long drive to the gate mostly in silence, the night warm but not unpleasant. Jon and Louis, the gate guards, were thrilled about the pizza and jokingly berated ‘Dr. Nora’ for spoiling them so. Bucky stayed silent, a soft grin in place as he took the pizza and watched the interactions. The guards didn’t ignore him, but mostly focused on Nora, which was fine with him. When he’d found himself in need of company twenty minutes prior, Nora was really all he needed, not these two practical strangers. Just as Bucky and Nora made it back inside, Nora stopped, setting her hand on his shoulder.

“Hold up.” She said, lifting first one foot and then other, taking her heels off again. “I just can’t handle these anymore.” She explained. Bucky grinned, looking at the way her pants billowed around her feet, even more, when she was standing versus sitting at a desk. They continued to the living area in companionable chatter, Bucky asking Nora about her current project and Nora filling the time with big hand movements and bigger words. They settled on the couch, Bucky grabbing a beer and bottle of wine from the frig, though he had no clue if anyone had a claim to either. Nora hummed in appreciation as Bucky handed her a glass of wine.

“So movie?” Nora asked. “Any preferences?” Bucky shrugged.

“You know I'll watch whatever you suggest.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She said, waving a hand at him. “But I'm trying to get you to the point of having an _opinion_ about films.” Bucky just shrugged again, silently hoping she picked something long. She did. In fact, she picked a TV show and set it on continuous play. Halfway through the fourth episode, Bucky could hardly believe his luck, though whether that luck was good or bad he'd yet to decide. The pizza was mostly gone, the wine bottle half empty, and the cookie dough sitting open with two spoons sticking out of it, all scattered across the coffee table in front of the couch. Nora had fallen soundly asleep not long ago, slipping sideways with a pillow hugged to her chest, her legs curled into the couch and feet tucked against Bucky’s leg. Bucky was enjoying the show but kept finding himself distracted by the sleeping woman. That she was so comfortable with him to give in to unconsciousness did not escape his notice and he didn't take its meaning lightly. He was just considering how to pursue something with her and wondering over the changes in such things when Nora's phone _ding_ ed from the coffee table. Then did so again twice more. Bucky ignored it at first, but when it started _ring_ ing with an incoming call, he grabbed it. It was Beth. Not really thinking much of it, he answered, not wanting Nora's cousin to be worried about her.

“Hello.” He said.

“Oh, good you're not--” Beth started, then cut off, probably registering that it had not been Nora’s voice. “Who is this?” She asked sharply.

“Bucky.” He answered.

“Bucky.” She repeated. “Why are you answering Nora’s phone?”

“She fell asleep.” He answered simply. “She’s still at the compound.”

“Hmm. Impromptu movie night?”

“TV show,” Bucky replied, finding it easier to talk to Beth than he expected. “She said I needed to know the brilliance of some guy named Josh and space cowboys.”

“Joss. Joss Whedon.” Beth corrected. “She would think Firefly was a priority. Honestly, I'm surprised she hadn't forced it upon you before this.”

“Nothing to force.” Bucky shrugged even though Beth couldn't see that. “It's good.”

“She’s totally brainwashing you.” Beth joked. Bucky froze. On the other end of the line, he heard Beth gasp and mumble a swear. “Way bad phrasing. Sorry.”

“S’okay,” Bucky said, forcing himself to breathe again. They were both awkwardly silent for a long moment.

“Well,” Beth said suddenly. “Now that I already made it weird I might as well push on. I need to give you the ‘hurt her and I'll kill you’ speech.” Bucky frowned. “Nor is more than just family, she's my best friend. She's more like a sister than a cousin. Now I don't know where this thing between you guys is going, but it's going somewhere, and I need you to promise me something.” Bucky waited for more, but she seemed to want a response. He thought about denying her claims but realized he really didn't want too.

“Okay.” He said at last.

“She needs to be more than just the first option since your life got . . . Worked out.” Beth said sternly. “She’s beautiful, funny, crazy smart, kind, the whole deal. But you need to like her for the bad stuff too.” Bucky frowned. _What bad stuff?_ “Don't you _dare_ make her just a bed warmer until something you like more comes along. Make sure she, all of her, is actually what you want.” Bucky waited, but Beth seemed to be done.

“Noted.” He said. Beth huffed, seeming unsatisfied. “She’s . . .” He stopped, not sure how to define what Nora was to him “She not just a first option.” He settled on.

“Mmm. Good.” Beth seemed to find that enough, though Bucky wasn't sure what she was reading beyond the words themselves. “Well then. I'll see her tomorrow I guess. No touching while she's asleep!” Bucky opened his mouth to defend himself because _of course he wouldn't_ , but then he registered the tease in her tone.

“Yes, ma’am.” He said instead, only half-mocking. Beth hummed again, then said goodbye and hung up. Bucky put Nora's phone back on the table and then stared at the sleeping woman, thinking over a great deal.

Nora came awake slowly, becoming aware that she was not in her own bed or even her own couch sometime before her eyes ever opened. She stretched, yawned, and rolled over, remembering the night before. Her mouth felt awful, but the rest of her pleasant and comfortable. She smiled, thinking about how into _Firefly_ Bucky had been and wondering how many episodes he watched after she fell asleep. Finally opening her eyes, she slowly sat up and looked around. She thought at first that the large common room was empty, but then she saw Bucky sitting at the far end of the dining table, newspaper in hand and coffee cup in front of him. She smiled, taking a moment to watch him.

He'd clearly taken a shower, his shorter hair still quite wet and laying flat on his head. It wasn't a very flattering look honestly but it just made Nora smile more. His expression was neutral as his eyes moved quickly over the paper, and Nora realized for the first time the ways his serum injections from so long ago must affect even little things like reading speed. He lifted his coffee cup to take a drink, and glanced up, pausing when his gaze met Nora's. She smiled at him, but stayed quiet, enjoying the surreal moment. Bucky took a large gulp of coffee, put the cup down and grinned softly at her before looking back to the paper. Nora felt her eyes widen. He was… could he really… yes, there was a flush of color in his features. Nora felt a goofy smile form on her face. She watched Bucky for another moment before getting up and walking to the hall, heading for the bathroom, tossing a ‘morning’ his way as she went. She did her best to freshen up, surprised to be informed by Friday that spare toothbrushes could be found under the sink. Nora giggled, wondering who thought to stock the team's guest bathroom with toothbrushes and other basic amenities, and grinning ruefully that falling asleep in front of the TV probably wasn't the expected reason to have such a need.

She entered the kitchen to find Bucky leaning against the counter, his coffee in hand but another steaming cup nearby.

“Oh, for me?” Nora asked with mocking coyness. Bucky grinned and shrugged.

“I couldn't remember how you take it though.” He explained, gesturing to the array of creamer and sweeteners on the counter. Nora doctored up her coffee and then leaned against the counter beside Bucky, taking a deep drink of the life-giving liquid, sighing in contentment.

“What are your plans for the day?” Bucky asked suddenly. Nora looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't been awkward with her in a long time now, but his nonchalance was clearly forced.

“Nothing in particular.” She answered. Bucky took a deep breath, nodding. He turned and looked directly at her.

“Would you like to go to dinner?” He asked. Now it was Nora's turn to pause with her coffee cup to her mouth. She stared at him, studying his expression. He mostly looked nervously expectant, but there was a definite edge of confidence to the ever so slight upturn of the corner of his lips. Nora pulled her cup down without taking a drink.

“Yes.” She said. “I would like that.” The upturn of his lips turned into a full curve. They stared at each other for a long, quiet moment.

“I'll pick you up at 7,” Bucky said, a statement not a question, but Nora knew that he was leaving room to object. She just nodded though. They grinned for a moment longer at each other, not moving to even drink their cooling coffee. It was the _ding_ of Nora's phone from the other room that broke the moment. She excused herself to answer the text, which turned out to be from Beth.

_Girl, I need to hear from you. All night at the compound?!?!_

Nora grinned, biting her lip. Beth was going to spaz when she learned of tonight's date. _Date._ Oh, dear, Nora had a date with Bucky Barnes tonight. She texted Beth back.

_Brunch from McClain’s? I'll pick it up on my way home._

“You're going on a date with the Winter Soldier,” Beth said flatly. Nora rolled her eyes, wanting to argue the title -- he wasn't _that_ anymore -- but she knew Beth understood that and was just being dramatic. Beth took a bite of her pastry. “I mean I saw this coming. What are you going to tell your parents? Uncle Dan is going to have another heart attack.”

“Well this is just a first date--” Nora started, Beth rolling her eyes and giving a _look_. “And yeah, I doubt it will be the only date, but telling my parents right away isn't something I feel the need to do.”

“Gonna have to do it eventually though. Because you're right, this won't be your only date. You're practically a couple already.”

“I don't know about that…” Nora argued. Beth gave the same _look_ again.

“You have dinner and a movie nearly every week,” Beth said, starting a checklist on her fingers. “Sometimes with others, sure, but often alone. And even when there's a group, you both only have eyes for each other.” Beth held up a second finger. “He visits you in your lab all the time, regardless of his arm.” She held up yet another finger. “When I tried to get you to come to a club opener, you said you had to check with _Bucky_ first.”

“Okay, well I also just wanted a reason not to go.” Nora qualified. Beth ignored her and started her next point. “Yes, yes, I get it!” Nora stopped her with a laugh. “But now… well, now it's… real.” Beth broke into a grin. Nora tried not to join her but couldn't manage it.

“Yeah.” Beth’s eyes crinkled as she made a goofy but happy face at her cousin. “So where's he taking you? What are you wearing?” She asked excitedly.

“I don't know,” Nora said with a shrug. “He didn't say.” Beth groaned and grabbed her phone. Nora waited in silence as Beth tapped away, then tapped away again after getting a quick response. Nora grinned at the play of expressions across Beth's face. She assumed it was Bucky her best friend was texting and was proven right when moments later Beth put the phone down and announced:

“Wear that dress you wore for Carrie's wedding. And your brown strappy sandals. He freaking loves your hair so wear it up loosely. That will give him something to take down later.” Beth gave an exaggerated wink. Nora rolled her eyes.

“Cause that will be needed.” She said sarcastically. “As far as I know this will be his first date since world war two. I doubt--”

“Uh, that makes it all the more likely!” Beth objected. “Think about it: that’s a long time.” Nora rolled her eyes again, feeling the warmth heating her face. Beth had a point and the idea had Nora blushing like mad. Touching Bucky for more than scientific reasons had certainly been on her mind, but the approaching reality of it was nearly overwhelming.

\-------------------------------

Not having grown up in New York, Nora hadn’t understood the lure of Central Park until actually living in the city. Such a large area of green was so refreshing in the midst of all the concrete and buildings. During her spurts of actually trying to pick up running, Nora had greatly enjoyed the park, but now she was enjoying it even more. On her own, she would have been pretty freaked out at the growing twilight of the grounds, but as she wandered with Bucky she knew she had nothing to fear.

“So how much has it changed?” Nora asked. “Do you remember the park?”

“Yeah, I do.” Bucky nodded. “Steve and I used to come here a lot. Even then the city air wasn’t great and this was a change of fresh air.”

“Steve as a tiny asthmatic still baffles me,” Nora said with a laugh. “I mean I’ve seen pictures and all, but _still_.” Bucky laughed.

“Yeah, well the park hasn’t changed as much as he has.”

“So dating in the 1940s,” Nora said, jumping topics.. “What was it like?”

“You really want to talk about that?” Bucky asked with a smirk and an arched brow.

“Well . . .” Nora shrugged. “I assume it was a pretty different time. I want to understand what to maybe expect.” She smirked back at him, impressed by her own boldness almost, though she’d never been one to mince words.

“You’re the one who told me I got to remake who I am in today’s world,” Bucky said. “Does that not count dating?”

“Oh, it does,” Nora assured him with a grin. “But you’re still going to be influenced.”

“Fair enough.” Bucky agreed, then took a big breath, shrugging. He looked at his feet and scuffed at the sidewalk. Nora restrained a grin at the nervous action. “Truth is Nora, I don’t really know what I’m doing anymore.” He chuckled bitterly, still not looking at her. “Steve tells me, and I think I mostly remember, that I was . . . well, _good_ with dames.” He finally looked at her, his expression a mix of lingering confidence from a life gone past and current anxiety of a life not yet lived. “I don’t know now though.”

Nora smiled at him, more taken than she’d yet been. She lifted a shoulder in a shrug.

“That’s a fine place to be.” She assured. “I’m not super with it either.” She admitted. “Guys tend to dislike my weird, secret work and bad habit of saying what I think.” Bucky’s face broke into a grin.

“Well, I have weird, secret work too.” He said. She laughed at that and they started walking again. “And I like that you’re blunt. I’ve had too many lies for too long.” Nora twitched a smile but then frowned.

“Every time you say something like that I want to turn field agent and hunt down every Hydra bastard that had anything to do with you and drag them back to my lab to do all sorts of inhumane and unethical experiments on them.” She said. He liked her honesty, right? Nora looked to her left to judge his reaction and stopped suddenly, finding him not there. He was a pace behind her, staring at her with an odd smile on his lips but a frown in his eyes. She frowned as well, worried that she _should_ have filtered herself better.

“I mean I guess that wouldn’t really help since it would just perpetuate the cycle and all that but I just--” She tried to backtrack but then trailed off when Bucky shook his head slightly, still giving her that odd look. She fidgeted after a moment, the strength of his appraisal heavy on her. “What?” She asked at long last. Bucky blinked twice and looked away, then back as he smiled more fully.

“I’m glad Tony sent you to Wakanda.” He said at last. “I’ve met some of the other scientists and none of them would have been as good as you.” Nora frowned, considering the other Stark Ind. doctors. There _was_ a reason that she had been sent, but she didn’t understand the connection of her work with his arm to the recent conversation.

“It’s not about your work,” Bucky said and she couldn’t help but laugh a bit at how he seemed to have guessed her train of thought. “It’s about who you are.” Now it was Nora’s turn to fix him with an evaluating stare. He met her gaze and didn’t bat an eyelash. She studied him carefully. His hair was growing out from the near military cut he’d had when he came stateside but it was still short, just brushing across his forehead. It was a good look that helped highlight the strong structure of his face. His eyes still had dark shadows under them like he wasn’t sleeping much, but currently the shine of them, the _life_ beaming forth, far outweighed that. He had shaved since that morning and paired with his steely blue button-up shirt and jeans he had a very clean-cut look going. His sleeves were rolled to the elbow, showing off lean forearms, though one of which Nora knew was actually a hologram (given that she had programmed it). She moved back to his eyes, where he was still holding a soft smile and watching her look him over. There was a slight glint to his look now that nearly made her blush, realizing she had just checked him out very obviously. His lips twitched in a further grin and Nora made a decision. She stepped back towards him and took his face in her hands, palms melded to his jaw.

“Well yeah, Bucky.” She said. “This scientist is going to fight for you. I can’t say if Dr. Connor or any of the others would do the same, but I will.”

“That’s fine,” Bucky said. His hands came to Nora’s waist, soft and just the slightest bit timid. “I wouldn’t want to kiss any of them for it anyway.”

“I don’t see you kissing me for it either.” She challenged. Bucky tilted his head, narrowing his eyes.

“If I do recall, a gentleman should ask first.” His face dipped closer to hers.

“That’s well and good, however, if this dame has put herself in your arms, it’s safe to guess I’ve preemptively said yes.” Nora countered, pulling his lips to hers as the words left her mouth. She felt Bucky’s sharp intake of air through his nose, felt the way he tensed and wrapped his arms more fully around her waist. She let out her breath and ran one hand up the back of his neck and into his hair. She pulled away just enough to open her eyes and actually see his face. His eyes were closed and his lips parted as he let out a low breath. Nora smiled, leaning into his neck and pressing a kiss to his pulse. He swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing. Then abruptly his right hand left her waist and came to her head, threading into her hair and tilting her face back to his for another kiss. The first had been intense, but nearly passive; a testing of the waters. This was full and anything but passive. Bucky apparently sure did remember how to be _good with dames_. First Nora lost her breath as he pulled her in tight to him and tilted her head so that he could kiss her deeply, the hand at the back of her head supporting her while his fingers also dug ever so gently into her scalp. Next Nora lost her head, the dizzying effect of his kiss driving all other thoughts away. Then spacial awareness was lost and it wasn’t until she couldn’t breathe and _had_ to pull away from that she realized Bucky had literally lifted her off her feet and was holding her so close that her toes were dangling above the ground. She gasped as he set her down and pulled his head back to meet her gaze. The goofy grin on his face was contagious and Nora let out a joyful laugh. The glimmer she has seen in his eyes earlier was it’s own galaxy of brightness now. Bucky laughed too and then pulled her close again, burying his face in her neck as he hugged her tightly. Nora smiled as she realized that the clip holding her hair up was gone.


	3. In which Steve gets Natasha to shut up and lets go just a smidge

“Sickening,” Beth commented, digging a spoon directly into the ice cream tub. “I’d’ve never encouraged this had I realized he would be over even _more_.” She looked over at Steve as he chuckled.

“Trust me.” He said, looking up from the dishes. “Bucky has been worse. Women always flocked to him.”

“You’re not endearing him to me,” Beth warned, pointing at Steve with her spoon. Steve grinned.

“He’s a lot different with her.” He promised. “He’s changed too much to be that same man anymore. She’s just what he needs.” Beth snorted and looked back at Nora and Bucky in the living room. They were bickering over what movie to watch, though Beth was sure Bucky didn’t really care. Nora was holding the movie he’d chosen behind her back, insisting he _just couldn’t_ watch it until after seeing some other series, to which Bucky was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in, barely even pretending he was trying to get the movie. Beth rolled her eyes and turned back to Steve.

“How is it that he’s been on the truly healthy track of life for only a few months and has a girlfriend, yet you’ve been up and at ‘em for several years now?” Beth asked, taking another bite of ice cream. “Or do you? Oh, it’s Black Widow isn’t it!” She guessed before he had a chance to answer. “I could totally ship it.”

“You could--- what?” Steve murmured. “No, Natasha and I are not . . . together. But you sound just like her.”

“How so?” Beth asked. Despite the oddities of it, Beth had quickly adapted a strange friendship with the super soldiers and become very familiar with them both.

“She’s always pressuring me to date,” Steve said, drying his hands and turning to face her. “Thinks I’m too wrapped up in the work.”

“She probably has a point.” Beth agreed. “What do you do besides work and come here?”

“There’s more to my life than that,” Steve said with a laugh.

“Like what?” Beth asked around the spoon in her mouth.

“Like . . . well, I’m training with Wanda too--”

“Work.” Beth cut him off. “What else.”

“Does enjoying your and Nora’s company count as work?” Steve asked. Beth grinned at the edge of sass in his voice.

“Just Nora it might be work since you do actually work with her, but in general, no.” She said. “However, I asked you what you do _besides_ work and hang out with us. You need to go on a _date_ . You need to get _laid_.” Beth watched Steve closely out of the corner of her eye, anticipating his reaction. He went still and his eyes glazed over for a moment, then his jaw flexed and he sighed, bringing his gaze back to focus on Beth.

“Yeah, you sound just like Nat. Only even more blunt.” Beth laughed, _really_ laughed.

“She’s a total badass so I can handle that comparison.” She said through the laughter. “Really though,” She cut herself off. “You’re not the only one watching out for him anymore,” she nodded her head towards Bucky in the living room. “Now it’s your time to live. If he’s managed it, so can you. Have you even dated since coming out of the ice?”

“Just like Nat.” Steve mumbled, getting a spoon from the drawer and going for a bite of ice cream. “Yes, I have dated. I can hardly go a day without being asked out. To coffee, to drinks, to the supply closet, you name it.” Beth let out a snort of laughter, picturing Steve’s reaction to the latter. “I’ve tried it, but women seem to only want the _Captain._ Or I work with them.” He added the last after a breath.

“What’s wrong with a work romance?” Beth asked, pulling herself up to sit on the counter. The sounds of Bucky and Nora’s squabbling had been replaced with a silence only broken by a soft gasp here and there which told both Steve and Beth to stay in the kitchen for a bit. “If you are still feeling out of touch with this era then wouldn’t someone who you have so much in common with be good?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Steve said, getting another bite of ice cream. Beth grinned, for some reason entertained that he seemed to like Moose Tracks as much as she did. 

“But…” She prompted.

“But I know enough to know that relationships are not always smooth and in my line of work a problem in the relationship could result in enough of a distraction between how we work together that people could die.”

“Okay Mr. Dramatically Pessimistic,” Beth said with a roll of her eyes. “But fine, don’t date someone from work then. You need to get around other people. Come to an event I work with and just _socialize_. Oh goodness, Steve, did you really just cringe at that word. Grow up.” She said the last with a laugh and a bump of her shoulder against his. 

  
\------------------------------  
  


Back in the living room, Nora was biting her lip so hard she was sure she would start bleeding.

“Bucky, Bucky stop.” She finally gasped quietly. “Steve and Beth are _right_ there.”

“I don’t care.” He mumbled against her neck.

“I do.” She whimpered as he sucked hard right on her neck. He groaned but pulled away, giving her one last kiss on her lips as he went. Nora straightened out her shirt and her hair as Bucky re-buttoned the jeans he’d only just gotten undone and been unable to proceed with.

“We need to get them out of here.” He complained.

“Well, it’s her apartment too.” Nora reminded him. Bucky said nothing, simply tucking her under his arm and handing her the TV remote.

“Are you two decent or are we abandoning the movie idea?” Beth’s voice called from the kitchen. Bucky pulled a face, but Nora called back:

“Just finally settled on a choice. We’re ready now.”

“Good lord, did you have to leave hickies all over her neck?” Beth asked as she came into the room.

“What?” Nora squeaked, starting to get up but Bucky held her down.

“She’s kidding, there’s only a couple.” He said, tossing a glare at Beth who grinned at him. Nora gave Bucky a glare of her own.

“Not on work nights.” She reminded him in a whisper. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“It’s Friday. And I don’t see why it matters. The whole compound is going to know before too long.”

“I don’t care about anyone knowing but I need to stay professional.” Nora countered. Bucky rolled his eyes and kissed her on the cheek. Steve grinned and Beth made fake gagging sounds.

“I’m too single right now to handle this. Start the damn movie.” She complained.

\------------------------------  
  


“Fine, Natasha,” Steve growled. Bucky looked up at the rare sound of true annoyance in his friend’s voice. “If I ask someone out will you stop bugging me and _leave it alone_?” Bucky glanced at Natasha and smirked at the dumbfounded look on her face. For as long as he’d known her, and the more he remembered the longer he found that to be, he’d only seen her expression so unguarded a handful of times. She had been playing her standard game of tease-the-crap-out-of-Steve and for the first time, he’d risen to the bait. It took her only a moment to rearrange her features and to give a smirk of her own to Steve.

“Sure thing, Cap.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But you have to actually go on a date, not just ask her out.”

“And if she says no?” Steve asked, his tone still tensely annoyed. Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Like that will happen.” She and Steve stared at each other for a long moment. Bucky watched them, entertained by this turn of events.

“Fine,” Steve said shortly, turning and stalking out of the gym.

“Are you going to ask her right now?” Natasha called after him.

“Yes.” Steve ground out.

Natasha’s brow raised and she turned to look at Bucky. “Who is he going to ask out?”

“Hell if I know,” Bucky said with a shrug, trying to figure that out himself. He thought Steve would be likely to say something if there was a woman he actually truly liked, but there were any of a handful of girls that Steve might ask out to get Natasha off his back. For a while Bucky had thought that there might actually be a flame held for the redhead before him. He’d asked Steve about it and Steve had been surprisingly non-defensive, admitting that he had certainly thought it through, but ultimately ‘Nat’ was just a good friend and Steve was really happy with it that way. He’d then told Bucky about the something or another growing between Natasha and the Dr. Banner that was around to talk big with Stark sometimes. While it would be natural to doubt Steve’s honesty, even after all their time and issues, Bucky could read Steve well enough to trust him.

“Hmm.” Natasha said. “Well if I don’t know and _you_ don’t know, I doubt anyone but he does and we’ll just have to wait to find out.” Bucky nodded with a shrug. Natasha raised her wrapped hands and deepened her stance. “Want to go a couple of rounds?” She asked. Bucky raised a brow, then stepped forward, Natasha being one of the very few people that he could spar with and not worry about killing accidentally.

\------------------------------

Nora clamped the phone between her shoulder and ear and went back to typing at a lab report.

“Hello?”

“Steve just asked me out. I think he’s serious.” Beth’s voice came through the line. Nora dropped her cell phone and had to go diving under her desk for it.

“ _What_?” She gasped out once the phone was back to her ear.

“Steve. I was working from home today and he just showed up.” Beth elaborated.

“What did you say?” Nora asked.

“Yes. Duh.” Beth said in her ‘Nora-you’re-being-dumb’ tone. Nora grinned. She hadn’t seen this coming at all, but Steve was great and Beth was great and Nora could see them being great together.

“Tell me how it happened.” She said, saving her report for later and deciding it was coffee break time.

“Well he didn’t even knock on the door actually.” Beth started. “I heard him pacing in the hallway and it was so obnoxious-- just _clomp clomp clomp_ \-- that I went out to yell at the neighbors but there was Steve. And he was wearing these sweat pants that shouldn’t legally fit him like that and he was sweaty and it turns out that he _ran_ here from the compound _after_ being in the gym. But anyway I came out into the hall and we just stared at each other and then I was like ‘Weird. What are you doing here?’ and he like didn’t answer me at first, so then I started rambling about _nothing--_ like it was bad, I just couldn’t shut up-- so much worse than normal, which is weird because this is _Steve_ and I haven’t been uncomfortable around him in _ages_ \--”

“Beth.”

“Right, so I’m rambling and I’m pretty sure I told him how good he looked and how unfair it was to be so sexy in sweatpants and then he did just like you did and said my name and I shut up and he stared at me for a moment before just saying ‘Would you like to go out to dinner with me?’ and I said ‘Yes, of course, I would.’ and then I had the urge to jump him right there--” Nora choked. “--But I didn’t, _clearly_ , because I wouldn’t be calling you right now because we’d be--”

“ _Beth_.”

“Yeah, so I’m going to dinner with Steve tomorrow.” Beth paused long enough to take a breath. “I’m going on a date with Captain America. When I told him he needed to date I didn’t think he’d take it to mean date _me._ ”

“Wow.” Nora agreed. She took a moment to process the story. “You know, as little girls, we used to dream about being with brothers. This is damn close.”

“First date Nor,” Beth mumbled.

“This is just like when I went out with Bucky!” Nora laughed. “Yes, it’s a first date but do you not think there will be a second date?”

“Well duh, I would want too but I don’t know why he’s asking me. He said that Natasha Romanoff bugs him about dating a lot and then I bugged him about it and what if he’s just making a point? I mean, I’m all for that and I don’t mind, but I just don’t want to assume too much.”

“I get that Beth, and that’s smart,” Nora said. To herself, she thought about what she knew of Steve. There was _no way_ that Steve would ask a woman out just to make a point, though she could see a situation where he might be driven to make that first move as a result of being bugged enough. But there had to be something more; Steve just wasn’t the kind of guy to string a girl along. Nora was convinced that’s why he hadn’t had much romantic interaction. It wasn’t because he was still the guy Bucky told her stories about because he wasn’t. Nora was willing to bet it had much less to do with being uncomfortable with dating itself and more to do with an unwillingness to date just for the sake of dating. If he was asking Beth out though... 

“Are you working at home all day?” Nora asked.

“Yeah, just working on some concept art for that show in the city.”

“Okay, I’m going to get off early and we’re going to have a girly evening. I’ll grab wine on my way home.”

“You are the best cousin friend a girl could ever wish for,” Beth said with a dramatic sigh. Nora grinned and ended the call.

\------------------------------

“Would it be arrogant to use _Captain_ to get a private table?” Steve asked, scrolling on a laptop in front of him. Bucky cocked a grin at his friend, enjoying this awkward side of Steve again.

“Nah, man.” He replied. “You’ve got to use what you’ve got and what you have got is one hell of a name to drop.” Steve cringed slightly but shrugged. Bucky watched him, wondering over how Steve seemed to be unconsciously separating himself more and more from the Captain America title. Some days, it truly did seem like they were almost two different men who just happened to be made of the same stuff.

“Where are you taking her?” Bucky asked.

“Nat suggested this French place with a name I can’t pronounce, but it seems pretty high profile.” Steve dragged a hand over his face.

“Would Beth want the attention?” Bucky asked, unsure of the answer. He counted Beth among his few friends but in all honesty, he was pretty focused on Nora anytime Beth was around so he still didn’t know her all that well.

“I don’t know,” Steve mumbled.

“But you don’t want attention.” Bucky voiced what he was seeing in Steve.

“No.” Steve agreed.

“So take her somewhere chill.” Bucky pulled out his phone and texted Nora.

 _Where would Beth like to go? Steve is overthinking it and doesn’t want a lot of attention._ Only a moment later and his phone _ping_ ed at him with a response. Bucky moved closer to Steve on the couch and pulled the laptop away, typing in the name Nora had sent and then handing it back to Steve once he was at the website.

“Nora said it’s--” He looked back at his phone and read: “‘ _Low key and tasty_ .’ So there you go.” Steve sagged in apparent relief and called the restaurant to reserve a table. The two men sat in silence for a while before Bucky thought _ah to hell with it_ and decided to bring up the subject of _feelings_.

“So is this to get Natasha off your back or is it for real?” Steve stiffened in response to Bucky’s question. The silence stretched on.

“When I . . . woke up,” Steve finally said. “One of the hardest things was finding Peggy again. It would have been just as bad if she’d died already, but seeing her as faded away as she was . . . I don’t know what would have happened between us but never getting to find out . . .” Bucky listened, glad to that Steve seemed to be getting something out that he’d been needing to.

“It’s a whole new world here.” Steve said with a sigh. Bucky nodded, totally understanding the ‘here’ meaning this century. “I was just getting used to things and then I found _you_ and then I lost you, and then Sokovia happened, and then there was Sharon but that. . .” Steve let out a loud sigh. “I don’t know Buck . . . I don’t know what I’m doing with -- dating.” Bucky smirked a bit at how Steve half stumbled over the word. Same ol’ Steve.

“But you like her?” Bucky prompted.

“Natasha could push and push but nothing would make me string Beth along.” Steve said firmly. “And I . . . I do like her. She’s sharp and she’s clever . . . and she doesn’t seem like she would crumble under a -- relationship -- with, uh, someone like . . . us.” Steve trailed off, his forehead creasing. Bucky grinned.

“Thinking about how she’d be _under_ y--” He cut off as Steve shot him a red-faced glare, but he couldn’t pull the grin from his face.

“Under the social and mental pressures.” Steve said through his teeth. Bucky grinned wider.

“Want some tips?” He offered.

“No.” Steve said firmly. “I’ve had plenty of _that_ from you to last a lifetime . . . even one as long as ours.”

\------------------------------

Beth worked in fashion, so _of course_ she had been nervous before. Knowing that a model is walking down the runway with only three stitches holding a $50,000 gown on and that if it doesn’t hold up all of Paris fashion week, all of the fashion world, would find you to blame . . . it was no small thing really. Beth also lived in New York and had walked these streets for years and even fought off a mugger once (Miss Congeniality’s S.I.N.G. and pepper spray to the rescue!), which was an even scarier thing if not as nerve-wrackingly drawn out of an event. She even had a less than sunshine-and-rainbows childhood that had her well past just first name basis with anxiety. Beth however, had not been nervous about a _date_ since 8th grade.

“Oh shit I’m going on a date with Captain America.” She said to herself in the mirror. _Should I wear a flag or something?_ She wondered somewhat frantically. _No. This is just Steve. He doesn’t have to be that big shot all the time._ But who was she kidding? Star-Spangled Man With a Plan or not, he would never be _just_ Steve. Beth took a deep breath and smoothed her top down. She had debated a great deal in her head about what to wear, but once the outfit was on, she had not looked back. Though she knew she would rock a killer dress, and owned quite a few to choose from, she opted to go a little calmer tonight with business casual pants and a silky top. The heeled ankle boots were her main stretch because she knew that extra click to her stride would ensure any confidence boost she found herself needing.

From her seat on Beth’s bed, Nora said, “You look fantastic.” Beth caught her eye in the mirror and grinned. Nora was eating ice cream out of the tub and Beth couldn’t help but think of the last time Steve was over and they had done the same. “But of course it was never in doubt that you would.” Nora added.

“So date with a supersoldier.” Beth said, turning and bouncing down next to her cousin. “Any advice?” Nora stared at her blankly, the spoon held in her mouth. “Come on, Nor! Give me something!” Nora blinked at her.

“He eats a lot.” She said flatly. _Cue the eye roll_ , Beth thought.

“That I knew.” Before she could press about the ‘good stuff’, there was a knock at the door. Nora’s eyes lit up and she grinned at Beth, who grinned back and then threw a pillow into Nora’s face with a mumbled ‘shut up’.

“I won’t wait up!” Nora called after her with a laugh. Beth had the urge to flip her off, but resisted.

“Hi,” Steve said the second the door opened. Beth froze. Flowers. He had brought her flowers. Not roses or lilies or something snazzy, but just a mixture of simple almost wild-looking flowers that looked a little worse for the wear. “Sorry about the flowers,” Steve said, seeming to follow her thoughts. “They got a little, uh, smashed in my bag.” He gave a sheepish grin and Beth thought she might have melted just a little.

“They’re perfect.” _Just like you_ . Beth accepted the flowers and Steve followed her to the kitchen so she could put them in an empty pickle jar full of water. “There.” She said as she placed them in the middle of the table. She felt Steve’s eyes on her, though he looked to the flowers as soon as she turned to him. Beth held a breath as she looked him over, sure she was being rather obvious but not caring enough. He was wearing softly faded jeans and a simple, white button-up shirt. His jaw was clean-shaven and his hair just the teeniest mussed up. _Wow,_ Beth thought with a sigh, _American treasure indeed_.

He cleared his throat. “Shall we?” And swear to goodness, he offered her his arm. Beth bit her lip to hold back a giggle, and Steve flushed a little. He made a small, flustered sound, but Beth slipped her hand into the crook of his arm before he could pull away.

“We shall.” She grinned up at him, and kept grinning as the night went on. She quickly became very thankful for her choice of pants when she found that Steve had brought his motorcycle. As he fitted a second helmet to her, she joked:

“You know, Steve, there are funner ways to mess my hair up.” Steve’s fingers faltered on the straps for only a second before he quirked an uncomfortable-looking smile at her, his neck lightly flushed in a way Beth found highly endearing. He didn’t tease back though and she was wondering if perhaps the joke was misplaced when suddenly he was completely in her space with his arms reaching around behind her. Beth felt her breath catch in her throat and she looked up to find him much, _much_ closer than he had been moments ago. Their eyes met and she wanted to kick herself for how stereotypically ‘lost in his eyes’ she was but _damn._

“Got to keep you safe.” Steve said in a low voice, leaning away from her, though maintaining eye contact, and pulling what turned out to be a too large leather jacket, _his_ leather jacket, over her shoulders.

“Right.” She agreed, thinking more about clothes coming _off_ , rather than _on_ . _Get yourself together girl!_ She berated herself. _You are not some smitten, hormone-driven teen!_ “Safety first.” Steve nodded and grinned before turning to get on the bike. Beth pulled in a deep breath and got on behind him, wrapping her arms snugly around him, but careful to be conscious about where they were holding. “I suppose I’ll wait for the ride home to feel you up.” She said under her breath as the bike roared to life.

“What?” Steve asked.

“Oh, nothing!” Beth laughed back to him. From there it wasn’t a long drive to a small Mom and Pop style eatery where Steve ate a three-foot meatball sub all to himself and Beth surprised him by insisting that he have _this_ beer over _that_ beer because of the way it would pair with the meal. When Steve found the draft to be a good pairing indeed, they toasted their glasses and then laughed over the foam that clung to both their upper lips. The breadsticks and the beer kept their hands busy as they talked away several hours without noticing. Beth was delighted to find that Steve was as fascinated, albeit maybe in a slightly horror stuck way, as he was confused by the fashion industry. She detailed out rises and falls in trends, style categorizations, and color palettes, sharing one laugh-filled story after another of all the woes and joys of her profession.

“I would love to see your portfolio,” Steve said after Beth finished telling him about the line she was currently working on.

“I’ve heard tell that you’re an artist yourself,” Beth replied. She realized she was dominating the conversation and kept trying to get him talking, but he seemed so genuinely interested in everything she said that she found it difficult to push the issue. Besides, she _did_ enjoy talking. Steve gave a shrug in response to her comment. 

“Yeah, I was going to go art school if I hadn’t finally gotten into the army. Now I just doodle basically.”

“I started that way but found that I can’t draw faces to save my life so instead I just drew the clothes.”

“Drawing people are my favorite.” Steve said with a soft smile. “Capturing a fleeting expression or a look in the eye . . .” He trailed off and Beth found maintaining eye contact difficult with the way he was so sincerely studying her.

“We could team up then,” Her voice sounded breathy and she swallowed before going on. “You can do the face and I’ll do the clothes.” Steve grinned lightly and nodded once. Beth swallowed again, the nerves that had faded much earlier returning for some reason. Steve finally broke eye contact, suggesting they be going with some comment about not keeping her out past the ‘appropriate time’.

“You know, _Cap’t_ , I haven’t had a curfew since I moved out on my own.” She said as they walked the short block from the restaurant to where Steve had parked. “Nora and I make sure not to parent each other _that_ much anyway.”

“How long have you lived together?” Steve asked, looking down at where Beth had twined her arm into his. She brushed her shoulder against him and looked coyly up at him.

“Hmm, about eight years? Ever since she moved to New York. I went to school here and when she started working at Shield she got based here and it was just perfect.” Beth felt her smile grow as she thought about how happy she’d been to move out of her sketchy shared apartment and in with Nora. “We lived together on and off all our lives and have pretty much always been best friends so . . .”

“All your lives?” Steve asked. They had reached the bike and shifted to face each other, but neither of them made a move to leave.

“Yeah,” Beth bit her lip, realizing that _of course_ Steve wouldn’t know about her family. She liked to forget about it when she could. “My parents were -- not too great. I would have ended up a foster kid real young if Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue hadn’t taken me in. I was back with my parents a couple of times over the years but at thirteen I refused to go back and Nora’s parents became my legal, permanent guardians. I was never actually adopted, but they are basically mom and dad to me.” Beth could _feel_ the sorrow washing off of Steve.

“I understand that bond you two have,” Steve started. “Bucky and I. . . well, it was totally different circumstances, but we might as well be brothers.”

“Nora and I have totally joked about that.” Beth said with a laugh, trying to move past how thankful she was that Steve hadn’t been all overly sympathetic and given her ‘I’m so sorry’s full of pity. “We’re like sisters; you’re like brothers.” Steve grinned as well, then his face grew somber.

“Beth, I--” he swallowed. “I just want to make sure you know that-- well, that I actually care for you and this wasn’t just-- I don’t want you to-- I . . .” He took a deep breath and lifted his eyes skyward. “I would love to do this again. Take you to dinner. To-- whatever.” He brought his gaze back to her. “On a date.” Beth grinned.

“I would love that too, Steve,” she said. Steve looked both flustered and relieved and Beth couldn’t help but laugh and lift up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.

  
\------------------------------

“Damn, right now to the freckles,” Beth said with a laugh. She was looking at a sketched portrait of herself that Steve has presented her with.

“Do I get to see your portfolio now?” Steve asked.

“Ah, the ulterior motives are now revealed!” Beth gasped with mock shock. “But you’ve seen my portfolio.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Not your professional one, but your _real_ one.” He elaborated on his request.

“That’s not a portfolio.” Beth sighed, standing from the couch. “Why you want to see my half-finished sketches of clothes, I can’t understand.”

“Same reason you wanted a picture!” Steve called as she went to the bookcase in her room that her old scratch pads were housed on. She grabbed several and again joined Steve on the couch in her living room. She dropped the pads in his lap and lifted his arm so she could tuck herself against his side. He looked at her as she settled her head against his shoulder and Beth held her breath. This casual touch had become common between them, but every time she presented an opportunity for him to kiss her . . . he didn’t do so. Between the handful of dates they’d had and the way Steve seemed to fight to keep his gaze in neutral places proved his desired for her, and though Beth adored the sweetness of his chivalry, she also really wanted him to _kiss her_.

Steve cleared his throat and opened the first sketch pad with his free hand as the other rested on her waist lightly. _Hmm._ Beth thought, looking at the skin of his throat, mere centimeters away from her lips, instead of the pages that he was so focused on. Steve commented on her sketches, but Beth didn’t hear the words, just felt the vibrations of his voice. She hummed some sort of agreement and pressed her lips to the edge of his jaw. Steve stiffened and swallowed hard. Beth smirked. _Come on, Steve,_ she silently prompted as she smoothed her hand across his chest, moving her lips slowly down his jaw to his neck.

“Beth.” Her name was a croak from this throat. He swallowed and tried again, “Beth. What are-- I-- _Mmm_.” She’d licked his pulse point and soared with pleasure at how he’d completely lost his voice at the action.

“Just a smidge.” She murmured against his skin.

“Hmm?” The question came out high and strained. Beth chuckled.

“Let go just a smidge.” Her hand slipped from the edge of his t-shirt to under the hem, ghosting her fingers along his abdomen; his whole body shivered, but he stayed completely still otherwise. “Why are you hesitating?” Beth asked softly, making her voice as seductive as possible but a tint of a tease peeked through.

“Well, I--” Totally new to Beth, she found his stumbling words hugely exciting. Steve was such a _good man_ and like a warrior of justice and crap, so she just _knew_ that once he stepped into the belief that he wasn’t being a cad for touching her, he would be a brilliant lover. “I don’t want to . . . overstep.” Beth couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped her.

“Really, Steve? You should know better by now.” Foregoing all slyness, Beth flung one leg over Steve’s lap, knocking the sketch pad to the floor and settling herself atop his thighs. Beth loved how he gasped adorably and floundered his hands in the air as if he didn’t know where to put them. She grinned at him and rocked herself close and then created a small distance again, Steve’s body reactively echoing her movement and his hands settling on her waist. “What the hell makes you think I wouldn’t _say_ if you overstepped?”

“I’m _not_ thinking much right now, Beth.” He said in a strained voice. “That’s the issue.”

“Well I’m not quiet, clearly, so please just trust me to speak up,” Beth closed her hands on the fabric of his shirt, twisting it in her grip, “and _kiss me already_ .” They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment and Beth held her breath, worried she’d might have been a _tad_ pushy. But then, _oh but then_ , Steve’s hand lifted from her waist to cradle the side of her face. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and breathed deeply.

“You just might be the perfect woman,” Steve said on an exhale. Beth started to laugh but was cut off by his lips brushing against hers. He was soft and tentative, but exquisitely wonderful. Beth sighed with contentment, the exhale breathing against his lips and breaking their frozen stillness. Beth’s hands released Steve’s shirt and slid up his neck to grasp at his short hair while Steve’s one hand did likewise and his other moved from her waist to grip gently at the top of her hip. Steve’s tongue sliding against her lips surprised Beth so much she gasped and separated them.

“Sorry! I’m so--” Steve said immediately, his hands flying away from her.

“No!” Beth said, grabbing his wrists and pulling him back. “You just surprised me, in a good way, because I kind of doubted that you, well…” She grinned at him. “I guess I doubted that you really knew what to do and kind of thought I was going to have to, like, coach you through this.” Steve leveled a deadpan look at her and she bit her lip to hold back a giggle.

“Beth. I may have been frozen for 70% of my life, but I’m not _totally_ out of the loop on this stuff.”

“Oh,” she giggled. “Nice,” and then she kissed him again, parting her lips in invitation but letting him take the lead, eager to see just how _in the loop_ he was. On later reflection, she laughed that she ever had a doubt.


End file.
